The Kathmandu District Court has issued arrest warrants against 20 people including Reeta Singh Vaidya, then chair of Nepal Children’s Organisation, in a land lease scam.

The court issued the warrants at the request of the Central Investigation Bureau which started an investigation following a complaint lodged by the organisation. The Nepal Children’s Organisation lodged a complaint with the CIB on Thursday seeking an investigation into the land lease deal.

The court also issued arrest warrants against then vice-chair Tulasi Narayan Shrestha, then general secretary Ganesh Bhakta Shrestha, then deputy general secretary Suman Shakya and then member Krishna Shankar Sah, among others.

Superintendent of Police Hobindra Bogati, spokesperson for CIB, said the agency started a probe for alleged fraud soon after the complaint was lodged.

Vaidya, who led the organisation for over two decades from 1992, and other office-bearers, have been accused of misappropriation in the course of leasing 29 ropanis (14,753.25 square metres) of land to a school.

In 2015, under Vaidya’s leadership, the organisation leased the land to Brihaspati Vidyasadan through a sub-lease deal for an additional 43 years, 16 years before the existing lease period expired. The deal was scrapped on April 27 this year.

According to the agreement, the organisation would receive Rs9 million annually as rent for leasing the land to Brihaspati. After leasing the land, the school then subleased five ropanis (2543.66 square metres) of land to Rai School at a rate of Rs6 million per annum.

The government formed after the 1991 general elections appointed Vaidya as the chairman of the organisation. Vaidya is also the daughter of Ganeshman Singh, a top leader of the democratic movement of 1990, and sister of Nepali Congress leader Prakash Man Singh. The school leased the land following her entry to the top position.