Siraha Land Revenue Office chief caught taking bribe

Kathmandu, November 22

Acting Chief of Land Revenue Office, Siraha, Rambabu Mandal was arrested with bribe money of Rs 500,000 today.

According to a press release issued by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority, the anti-graft body’s officials deployed by its Bardibas Office arrested Mandal red-handed with bribe money from his chamber in Siraha.

According to the release, CIAA officials carried out a sting operation against Mandal after a service seeker complained to the anti-graft body that Mandal asked for bribe to hand over a document to the complainant which he was supposed to submit to Rajbiraj Bench of Janakpur High Court. The complainant’s case is sub-judice in the Rajbiraj bench.

According to CIAA Spokesperson Pradeep Kumar Koirala, the number of sting operations carried out by the anti-graft body has increased in recent months.

In the fiscal year 2017-18, the CIAA carried out 97 sting operations, whereas in the in fiscal 2018-19, it carried out 142 sting operations and arrested 200 people, including two special class government officers, seven elected office bearers of local levels and 33 middlemen.

In the four months of the current fiscal, the anti-graft body carried out 72 sting operations.

Koirala said the CIAA was increasing its sting operations to nab the corrupt officials red-handed.

A case filed challenging the CIAA’s power to carry out sting operations has been sub-judice in the constitutional bench of the Supreme Court for almost three years.

The petitioner has argued in the case that the CIAA incorporated provisions relating to sting operations in its rules which was beyond the scope of law and the constitution.

The petitioner has argued that the constitution stipulated that the duties, functions and powers of the CIAA shall be governed by relevant laws but there was no provision of sting operations in the act and hence the provision relating to sting operations in the CIAA Rules was unconstitutional.

The constitutional bench of the apex court has listed the case for continuous hearing and is expected to adjudicate soon.