KATHMANDU, JANUARY 4

The Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police says it has almost completed the investigation into the Lalita Niwas Land Grab Scam and will soon file a charge-sheet against more than 300 offenders at the Kathmandu District Court.

Deputy Inspector General Dhiraj Pratap Singh told THT that more than 300 offenders, including many VIPs, faced criminal charges in the land grab scam.

Only three of the more than 300 accused have been arrested so far. They are: Shobha Kant Dhakal, private legal aid-provider Ram Kumar Subedi, and his wife Madhavi.

All three are in judicial custody.

They have been accused of creating fake government documents to transfer ownership of government owned land of Lalita Niwas (the complex that houses the prime minister's residence, Nepal Rastra Bank's central office, and VIP residences) into private ownership.

The deadline for the CIB to file a chargesheet in the case is January 11.

Earlier, the Commission for the Investigation of the Abuse of Authority was looking into the scam and had filed a corruption case against 175 individuals on 6 February 2020.

The government had handed over the case to CIAA as per the decision of Kathmandu District Government Attorney Office.

The 175 people accused by the CIAA include former deputy prime minister Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar, four former ministers, former head of the CIAA Deep Basnyat, and two former secretaries.

A version of this article appears in the print on January 5, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.