The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case against Dr Sangeeta Kaushal Mishra.
CIAA spokesperson Rajendra Kumar Paudel said that a corruption case was registered against Dr Mishra and 13 others in the Special Court on Sunday.
Along with Dr Mishra, the CIAA has filed charges against Dr Shrawan Kumar Thapa, then-director of the management division of the Department of Health Services (DoHS); Senior Health Administrator Dr Surendra Prasad Chaurasiya; DoHS Director Dr Vivek Kumar Lal; then-chief accounts controller Bhuwan Prasad Kafle; the department’s Legal Officer Sita Ghimire; and Public Health Officer Deepak Adhikari.
Similarly, the case has been filed against then-section officer Yadav Prasad Sapkota, Accounts Officer Shambhu Prasad Dhakal, Accountant Tilak Ram Dhakal, Biomedical Engineer Ashish Chauhan from the department, Padma Mishra, Public Health Inspector Sanjay Kumar Sah, Maxim Incorporation Trades Pvt Ltd, and its main operator Sundar Bhusal.
The CIAA alleges that Mishra and the 14 individuals engaged in corruption amounting to Rs 140.68 million in the procurement process of mammography machines for the Department of Health Services.
CIAA spokesperson Paudel said that damages equivalent to the amount of corruption have been demanded from Mishra and the other accused.
Mishra had been an aspirant for the position of health secretary. However, then-health minister Pradeep Paudel appointed Dr Bikash Devkota as health secretary instead of her.
After the interim government was formed under Sushila Karki’s leadership, Mishra resigned from her position as additional secretary. There were preparations to appoint her as the minister for health and population. However, her appointment did not take place after the CIAA informed the prime minister that it was preparing to file a case against her.
