KATHMANDU, JULY 9 The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case at the Special Court in Kathmandu against eight pharmacy staff of the Civil Service Hospital in New Baneswor, alleging serious irregularities in medicine procurement and management that caused a public loss of Rs 2,91,34,547.37 - over Rs 2.91 crore. The charge sheet names eight accused including pharmacy unit in-charges, storekeepers and pharmacy assistants. According to the CIAA, investigations found that medicines were entered as procured in billing software without actual delivery, crores worth of drugs were found expired in the hospital's store and pharmacy warehouse, and medicines shown as available in the computer system were physically not present. The accused also failed to prepare mandatory trail balance records - annual reconciliations of purchased, sold and remaining medicine quantities as required under the Hospital Pharmacy Service Directive 2072 - a failure that had already been flagged in the Auditor General's report for fiscal year 2077/78. Further, medicines that had expired within four months of supply were not returned to supplier firms as required under supply agreements. Despite the hospital's executive director assigning this responsibility to pharmacy unit in-charges, returns were not made and the corresponding amounts were not deducted from suppliers' security deposits as mandated. When supplier firms later applied for security deposit refunds, pharmacy staff provided false written confirmation that no expired medicines remained in the store - allowing deposit refunds to be processed without the required deductions. The eight accused named in the charge sheet are: Dipa Dhungana, pharmacy unit in-charge and pharmacy officer; Labendra Kunwar, pharmacy unit in-charge and pharmacy assistant; Dinesh Pant, senior pharmacy assistant; Dipak Sapkota, pharmacy assistant; Vinod Pokhrel, store keeper and senior pharmacy assistant; Shamila Shrestha, store keeper and senior pharmacy assistant; Keshav Raj Neupane, store keeper and pharmacy assistant; and Sandip Tiwari, store keeper and pharmacy assistant - all of the Civil Service Hospital, Nayabaneswor, Kathmandu. The CIAA has demanded imprisonment and fines equivalent to the established loss of Rs 2,91,34,547.37 against all eight accused under the Anti-Corruption Act 2059, along with recovery of the said amount. CIAA spokesperson Suresh Neupane confirmed the filing.