CIAA’s former chief sent to jail

KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 13

Former chief commissioner of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority Deep Basnyat was today sent to jail by the Special Court in the Lalita Niwas land grab case.

As per the court order, Basnyat, who has been accused of embezzling Rs 9.65 crore, was sent to Dillibazar prison after the Special Court denied him bail, said Spokesperson for the Special Court Pushpa Raj Pandey.

On February 5, the CIAA had filed a corruption case against 175 individuals, including former deputy prime minister and Nepali Congress

Vice-president Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar and former ministers Dambar Shrestha and Chandra Dev Joshi for their role in Lalita Niwas land grab case. The anti-graft body has also named Rukma Shumsher JB Rana and his family members as defendants in the case.

According to Deputy Attorney Debendra Acharya, who pleaded on behalf of the CIAA today at the Special Court, Basnyat was accused of taking a decision that helped transfer Lalita Niwas land to individuals.

Family of the late Subarna Shumsher Rana claimed that the Panchayat government had confiscated 299-ropani land in Baluwatar that belonged to them. The post democratic-era government returned only those plots of land that were forfeited by the government in 1960 to punish Subarna Shumsher and Kanchan Shumsher for championing the cause of democracy.

They said they sold all the land plots that they reclaimed in Baluwatar on the basis of the government’s decisions taken on May 28, May 31, and July 23 in 1990.

The Sharada Prasad Trital-led probe committee had submitted its report saying the government had forfeited only 14 ana land of Subarna Shumsher and had paid compensation to Subarna Shumsher for acquiring 284 ropani land. As per the Trital committee’s recommendations, the government has halted the sale and purchase of plots in Lalita Niwas area.