Special Court convicts five on graft charges

Kathmandu, November 27:

The Special Court today convicted three governmental officials and two businessmen in two separate corruption charges and imposed jail terms on them. The court has slapped a six-month jail term on the executive officer of Birgunj Sub-metropolitan City, Dhruba Kumar Karki, the in-charge of store keeping ,Lal Bahadur Raut, and the account officer, Harikishwor Prasad Chaurasiya, and has fined each person Rs 89,000. In the same case, the court has also handed out a two-month jail term and a fine of Rs 89,000 to businessman Prakash Kumar Tibrewala . In a separate corruption charge, the court slapped one-month jail term and Rs 2,500 in fines on Rajesh Adhikary of AK Suppliers.

A three-member bench comprising judges Govinda Prasad Parajuli, Rana Bahadur Bam and Bhoopdhoj Adhikary convicted the five responding to two separate corruption charges filed by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) last year. The CIAA had charged these officials with illegal dealings with businessman Tibrewala while buying plastic wheelbarrows for the sub-metropolitan city. The anti-graft body had also charged the officials of corruption while buying office furniture through AK Suppliers’ Adhikari. The CIAA had filed charge sheets accusing the officials of involvement in illegal dealings worth Rs 3,00,000 in the first case and Rs 5,00,000 in the second.