KATHMANDU, JUNE 22
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority has filed a chargesheet at the Special Court against 17 persons, including former chiefs of Ekantakuna-based Transport Management Office, for their alleged involved in corruption.
Apparently, issuing driving licence in an unauthorised manner.
Those sued by the anti-graft body are former TMO chiefs Sambar Bahadur Karki and Rajubhai Kusma, seven other employees of TMO and five middlemen. According to a press release issued by the CIAA today, Karki and Kushma, in collusion with other employees and middlemen had issued 533 licences in the name of as many persons by tampering with records of persons whose licences were automatically cancelled due to death or failure to renew within the stipulated period.
Baburam Sharma, the operator of Ekantajuna-based Sindhuli Photocopy Centre, is said to be the main accused among the five middlemen, Sharma and his associates would search for persons wishing to obtain licence and introduce them to TMO officials. On the basis of information received from Sharma, the TMO officials would cause the employees at the computer department to tamper with old records of driving licence holders for issuance of new ones.
The CIAA informed that TMO officials had issued licences to 553 persons during a period of 14 months from the fiscal 2020-21 to 2021-22.
As per the CIAA, the defendants have been charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act- 2002, seeking maximum punishment against them.
According to section 11 of the act, any person who corrects, adds, or changes the government documents in an unauthorised manner shall be liable to a punishment of imprisonment for a term from three months to two years and a fine not exceeding fifty thousands rupees. If convicted, the government official will also face dismissal from service.
A version of this article appears in the print on June 23, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
