Miscellaneous
CIAA drags ex-AIG Bhattarai to court on graft charge
The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) on Tuesday filed a case at the Special Court against former Armed Police Force’s AIG Rishav Dev Bhattarai on charge of corruption.The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) on Tuesday filed a case at the Special Court against former Armed Police Force’s AIG Rishav Dev Bhattarai on charge of corruption.
The anti-graft body had taken Bhattarai in custody on Monday. Bhattarai is also a leader of the newly-formed Naya Shakti Nepal Party headed by former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai.
“The court could not record Bhattarai’s statement on Tuesday due to time constraints. The CIAA has been asked to present him at 10am on Wednesday,” said Jagannath Poudel, spokesperson for the Special Court.
According to a court official, a decision will be taken whether to release him on bail after taking his statement.
According to the CIAA, it had investigated the property details of ex-AIG Bhattarai and his family members from his entry into the police service until his retirement in July 2012.
During the investigation, the source of his property worth Rs19.13 million could not be established. Subsequently, the CIAA registered a charge sheet at the court demanding fine and imprisonment as per Article 15, 16 and 29 under the Corruption Prevention Act 1960 and Article 20(B) of Corruption Prevention Act 2002.
The Article 20(B) of the Corruption Prevention Act 2002 states if found guilty of acquiring property in an illegal manner a public servant shall be liable to a punishment of imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, a fine equivalent to the amount illegally earned and confiscation such property. As he held the position equivalent to the special rank of the government service, additional three years of imprisonment has also been sought as per Article 24 of Corruption Prevention Act 2002.
The Corruption Prevention Act 1960 has provisioned punishment of additional five years of imprisonment for public servants holding special class or equivalent position. So, the anti-graft body has also sought punishment as per the provision of the old Act. CIAA Spokesperson Ganesh Raj Karki said that the anti-graft body had planned to file the case against Bhattarai on Monday, but it had to wait until Tuesday due to a prolonged interrogation.