Kathmandu, March 26

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority today filed a charge sheet in the Special Court against its former commissioner Raj Narayan Pathak accusing him of corruption.

The CIAA has named Pathak and Nepal Engineering College Director Lambodar Neupane, who paid bribe to Pathak, as defendants, in the charge sheet.

The CIAA issued a statement saying that its investigation into the corruption scandal found Pathak accepting a bribe of Rs 7.8 million from Neupane against the dignity of his post.

The CIAA has sought fine and punishment against Pathak under Section 3 (1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The charge sheet has sought additional punishment against Pathak under the act’s Section 24 for his involvement in corruption while serving the CIAA as its commissioner.

As for the charge sheet filed against Neupane, the CIAA has sought fine and punishment under the act’s Section 3 (3) and Section 3 (1).

The CIAA also decided to separately investigate charges against Pathak’s brother Subha Narayan who has been accused of accepting a bribe of Rs 1.5 million.

Pathak, who received the bribe for settling corruption cases sub judice in the CIAA, had resigned from his post on February 15 after the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) threatened to impeach him following the corruption scandal.

Pathak stepped down from the CIAA after parts of hours-long sting operation videos showed Pathak admitting to have accepted bribes of Rs 7.8 million in instalments to settle a corruption case lodged at the CIAA against a number of board members of Changunarayan-based Nepal Engineering College, who had made ‘illegal’ attempts to transform the public educational institution into a private college.

Dhwajman Moktan, a karate player who won gold medal in the 8th South Asian Games, shot videos that forced Pathak to resign from the CIAA. Gyanendra Jha, former personal secretary of Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal leader Mahanta Thakur, had assigned Moktan to carry out the sting operation.

Pathak was appointed CIAA commissioner in 2015 after the Constitutional Council headed by late prime minister Sushil Koirala recommended him and four others as commissioners on 27 February 2015.

Pathak, a permanent resident of Mahottari district, had retired as deputy attorney general before joining CIAA.

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