The District Government Attorney’s Office, Kathmandu, has filed a case against Rita Singh, the then chairperson of Bal Mandir, and 16 others in connection with the Bal Mandir land scam.
It filed the case against the 17 individuals at the Kathmandu District Court on Wednesday afternoon.
The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) had recently decided to prosecute the 17 over the misappropriation of Bal Mandir’s land at Naxal, Kathmandu.
Hemanta Bhattarai, an officer at the Kathmandu District Court, confirmed that the case against Singh and 16 others was registered on Wednesday afternoon.
“A case against 17 individuals including Rita Singh was registered around 5:15 p.m. today,” Bhattarai told Setopati. “A total of Rs 603.98 million has been demanded in damages.”
Rita Singh, the former chairperson of Bal Mandir, is the elder sister of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Urban Development Prakash Man Singh. Irregularities were found in the lease agreement of Bal Mandir’s land.
The other 16 include Tulsi Narayan Shrestha, Ganesh Bhakta Shrestha, Krishan Shankar Shah, Shyam Kumar Ale, Subash Kumar Pokharel, Prachanda Raj Pradhan, Ramkaji Gurung, Yogendra Bahadur Shahi, Deepak Das Shrestha, Prabin Raj Joshi, Murari Nidhi Tiwari, Purushottam Raj Joshi, Shraddha Sedhain, Abhinav Singhaniya, Siddharth Kedia, and Kirti Prasad Pandeya.
Singh and 16 others have been charged with fraud in the case.
Complaints had been filed alleging that agreements at low rates were made repeatedly between 1992 and 2015 with the intent of inflicting financial losses on the Nepal Children's Organization (Bal Mandir).
Earlier, arrests warrants were issued for former office-bearers of the Nepal Children's Organization and others in connection with the land scam in April last year.
The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police had obtained arrest warrants for 20 individuals including Singh in connection with the scam.
The District Government Attorney Office, Kathmandu, had investigated them but decided not to pursue a case against them.
The High Government Attorney’s Office also upheld the decision and forwarded it to the OAG, which decided to file a case in connection with the scam. The case was finally registered at the Kathmandu District Court on Wednesday.
Rita Singh and others have been charged with fraud under the former Civil Code, and sub-section (3) (c) of Section 249 of the new National Penal (Code) Act, 2017.
As per the provision, those found guilty of fraud can face imprisonment of up to seven years and a fine of up to Rs 70,000.
