Kathmandu, April 15

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority today filed a charge-sheet at the Special Court against Raj Kumar Dhakal, an X-ray technician at the customs office of Tribhuvan International Airport, for allegedly accumulating disproportionate assets worth around Rs 20 million.

According to the CIAA, Dhakal failed to establish and disclose legitimate sources of cash and property in question. An analysis of statement of income and expenditures submitted by Dhakal shows that he had lent millions of rupees to various persons through banking channel. The cash that he lent was many times higher than his income, said Joint Secretary Pradip Kumar Koirala, who is also the CIAA spokesperson.

Dhakal had registered moveable and immovable assets even in the name of his wife Nirjara Ghimire and Rammani Nepal (relationship undisclosed). Contrary to the amount Dhakal earned from legitimate sources, the CIAA report suggests that he had spent or invested disproportionate amount on land, house, vehicle, shares, banks and financial institutions.

The CIAA has sought confiscation of around Rs 20 million, a fine of an equivalent amount and jail sentence as per the provisions of Sub-section (2) of Section 20 of the Prevention of Corruption Act-2020.

Dhakal has been suspended from civil service after the anti-graft body filed the chargesheet.

The anti-graft body has also listed Nirjara and Rammani as defendants in the corruption case under the Prevention of Corruption Act for recovery of the amount in question.

In January 2017, Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police had arrested Dhakal for colluding with gold smugglers, who passed 33.5 kg gold through TIA. The gold was smuggled to Kathmandu from Dubai. Dhakal had allegedly assisted the smugglers in crossing the TIA customs with the gold without X-ray screening. Earlier, four officials working in TIA immigration office were charge-sheeted for corruption.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on April 16, 2020 of The Himalayan Times.