Kathmandu, August 17:

The Home Ministry today wrote to the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) stating that money was not distributed to journalists during the King’s rule.

“The ministry did not distribute money to journalists,” the letter stated. The PAC had sought details of the money given to journalists from the ministry in course of its investigation into the matter.

The letter stated that the ministry has been releasing up to Rs 70,000 a day to mobilise sources as the Home Minister has the authority to spend Rs 50,000 and the secretary has the authority to spend Rs 20,000 every day. According to figures provided by the Ministry, the former Home Minister, Kamal Thapa, had spent Rs 5 lakh every day.

The National Investigation Department (NID) also sent a letter to the PAC today providing details of the Rs 35 million it had spent. The NID said it spent Rs Rs 8.8m in 2062/63 and Rs 10.3m in 2061/62 for ‘intelligence source mobilisation.’

PAC chairman Chitra Bahadur KC today said, “As I don’t believe that the ministry did not distribute the amount, we will question the Home Secretary Umesh Mainali in this regard.”