KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 25

Former chairperson of Bhaktapur-based Nepal Engineering College Lambodar Kumar Neupane, 64, was arrested today on the charge of defrauding the college of Rs 8.21 crore along with others in the college board.

According to a press release by the Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police which arrested Neupane, CIB also found that there were financial irregularities worth Rs 23 crore when he was chairman of the college.

CIB said Neupane purchased a vehicle for Rs 4,956,000 from college funds, but used it as his private property. It said the board of directors of the college took Rs 15,000,000 from college funds but didn’t submit any bill or voucher for the use of the money.

CIB also accused Neupane of withdrawing Rs 5,750,000 college money by misusing the college letter pad.

Neupane, a resident of Manthali, Ramechhap, was chairman of the college board from 13 December 2013 to 1 October 2018.

On 26 March 2019, CIAA had filed a charge sheet in the Special Court against its former commissioner Raj Narayan Pathak accusing him of corruption.

The anti-corruption watchdog had named Neupane, who allegedly paid bribe to Pathak, as a defendant, in the charge sheet.

Pathak had to step down as CIAA commissioner after a sting operation showed him admitting that he accepted bribe worth Rs 7.8 million in instalments to settle a corruption case against a number of board members of Nepal Engineering College who had made ‘illegal’ attempts to transform the public educational institution into a private college.