Kathmandu, June 20

Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority filed a chargesheet at the Special Court against four police personnel, including an inspector, for their alleged involvement in corruption.

Those indicted by the anti-graft body yesterday are Inspector Khem Prasad Nepal and head constables Ramkaji Lama, Purusottam Khatri and Ram Sharan Rimal. According to the CIAA, they colluded while seizing 111 grams of gold smuggled to Nepal from China via land route and distributed the precious yellow metal among themselves.

The police personnel were posted at Border Police Post, Timure in Rasuwa. They had confiscated the gold being smuggled by a person at Rasuwagadi-Kerung border point on 8 December 2019. Contrary to the requirement that they submit the confiscated gold to the customs office along with the alleged smuggler, Inspector Nepal and head constables hid the contraband to serve their private interest by causing loss to revenue collection. The confiscated gold was worth Rs 677,599.

CIAA Joint Secretary Pradip Kumar Koirala said they not only hid the gold but also let the alleged smuggler off the hook in contravention of their responsibility.

After confiscation of the gold, Head Constable Lama came to Kathmandu to sell the gold for the purpose of sharing the money.

They have been charged under Section 3 of the Prevention of Corruption Act-2002. Koirala said the anti-graft body had sought maximum punishment against them under the law, in addition to recovery of the principal amount and a fine equivalent thereto. Inspector Nepal and three others were suspended from Nepal Police.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on June 21, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.