KATHMANDU, JULY 9

Incumbent Secretary at the Ministry of Communications and Information Krishna Bahadur Raut has been arrested in connection with the Lalita Niwas land grab scam.

The Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police today arrested Raut from the domestic terminal of Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu while he was on his way to his home district, Biratnagar.

Raut is the first incumbent government official to be arrested in connection with the scam after the police started arresting those accused in the case yet again.

A police source said Raut was arrested for his alleged involvement in making a fake recommendation to the government that the land actually owned by the government had mohi (informal tenant) while he was serving as a section officer at the Ministry of Land Management.

Earlier today, the CIB arrested former survey officer Dhruba Aryal and former head of Samarjung Company Lokhari Ghimire in the same case.

Police have now arrested over a dozen people, mostly former government employees, in relation to the scam.

Police have also acquired arrest warrant against four former secretaries, including Dip Basnyat, Chabiraj Panta, Dinesh Hari Adhikari and Narayan Gopal Malego. Secretary Sudhir Shah has already been arrested.

Police have concluded that middlemen, land mafia, government employees and political leaders worked together in the various four levels to transfer the land of Lalita Niwas, the complex that houses the prime minister's residence, Nepal Rastra Bank's central office, and houses of VIPs to private ownership since early 1990s.

Police have also secured arrest warrant for over 300 people connected to the offence.

Police are arresting them only on the basis of solid evidences that they have gathered.

A total of 143 ropani (over 78,000 square feet) area of Lalita Niwas was transferred to private ownership.

A version of this article appears in the print on July 10, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.