The Kathmandu District Court has issued an arrest warrant against four former ministers in connection with the Baluwatar land grab scam.
According to Deputy Inspector General Kuber Kadayat, central spokesperson for Nepal Police, an arrest warrant was issued against former deputy prime minister and physical planning minister Bijay Kumar Gachchhadar, former land reforms minister Chandra Dev Joshi, former land reforms minister Dambar Shrestha and former minister of state Sanjay Kumar Shah on Sunday.
The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police is investigating the Baluwatar land grab case.
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had lodged a corruption case against the then physical infrastructure and planning minister Gachchhadar for taking the proposal for expansion of the PM's residence in Baluwatar that facilitated the land grab but exempted the then PM Madhav Kumar Nepal.
Similarly, the then land reforms minister Joshi was also charged in the case while Baburam Bhattarai who chaired the Cabinet when Joshi was minister was spared.
The CIAA had claimed Rs 96.5 million each from Gachchhadar and Shrestha, and Rs 70.8 million from Joshi.
Former secretary Chhabi Raj Panta, who was a minister in the then government headed by chief justice Khil Raj Regmi, and former secretaries Deep Basnyat and Dinesh Hari Adhikari were also made defendants in the case.
The CIAA had not lodged a corruption case against former prime ministers Nepal and Bhattarai and CPN General Secretary Bishnu Paudel in the Baluwatar land grab scam.
The constitutional anti-graft body had said it did not have powers to prosecute former government heads for policy decisions while Paudel was spared as the land belonging to his son was returned.
The Supreme Court on Sunday ordered investigation even on those who took and authenticated Cabinet decisions and were directly involved at the implementation level in the scam, those who made proposals at the ministry level specifying the decision or the officials at the top level involved in the proposals.
Twenty people are currently in CIB custody over their alleged involvement in the land grab scam.
The then chief of Samarjung Company Ramesh Kumar Pokharel and Siddhika Khetan were released on guarantee on August 2.
Pokharel was released as he is not well while Khetan was released after investigations did not find her to have played any role in the land grab.
Bhatbhateni Supermarket promoter Min Bahadur Gurung, former election commissioner Sudheer Kumar Shah, Dharma Prasad Gautam, former chief of Samarjung Company Lok Hari Ghimire, fake tenant Dev Narayan Maharjan, the then survey officer Dhruba Aryal and Gopal Karki are currently in CIB’s custody.
Similarly, the then ward secretary of Kathmandu Metropolitan City-5 Shivaji Bhattarai, fake tenant Baburaja Maharjan, the then Survey Office employee Ghaman Kumar Karki, the then assistant accountant of Samarjung Company Binod Paudel, the then senior divisional engineer at the Ministry of Physical Planning Bal Krishna Shrestha, the then director general of Department of Land Management Rudra Prasad Shrestha, the then Land Revenue Office employees Yograj Paudel, Narayan Das Mishra, Sakulnanda Maharjan and Sanjay Maharjan are in police custody over their alleged involvement in the land grab scam.
Keshav Tuladhar was initially arrested in connection with the fake Bhutanese refugees scam. The CIB arrested him in the land grab case soon after the Kathmandu District Court released him on bail.
The CIB had also arrested the then chief of Dilli Bazar Land Revenue Office Kaladhar Deuja in the land grab case on June 27. But Deuja was released after it emerged that he and 16 others had already obtained stay orders against their arrest.
The CIB had then applied with the Supreme Court for vacation of the stay orders. Deuja was arrested again following the Supreme Court’s order.
Similarly, police had arrested the then Survey Department employee Arun Kumar Shrestha in connection with the land grab.
The CIB had also arrested Krishna Bahadur Raut, secretary at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. Raut had then filed a habeas corpus petition at the Supreme Court. He was released after the apex court issued a mandamus ordering that he be released on date pointing lack of reasons to keep him in custody.
A total of 143 annas of land at Lalita Niwas at Baluwatar is found to have been transferred in the names of various individuals in different stages. The CIB has obtained arrest warrants against more than 400 people in connection with the case till date.
