Case filed against 16 including DG of Department of Passport

Kathmandu: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a case of corruption against 16 individuals, including Director General of the Department of Passport Tirtharaj Aryal, at the special court today.

The CIAA filed the case involving the printing of passport booklets against the department’s Director General Aryal and Information Technology Director Sunil Kumar KC, claiming compensation of Rs 10 billion.

The same amount has been claimed against the then Director Shatrudhwan Prasad Sharma Pokharel, Director Rabindra Rajbhandari, Accounts Officer Tulsi Prasad Acharya, Computer Engineer Bipin Prasad, and Section Officer Somesh Thapa.

Also named in the case as accused are Under-Secretaries of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rajaram Dahal and Pushkar Raj Nepal (Law), and Under-Secretary (Accounts) Bhesh Prasad Bhurtel. Likewise, a claim for damages of Rs 8.22 billion has been made against Siddhartha Thapa, the Nepal representative of German company Veridos GMBH, which won the passport printing contract.

Likewise, a claim for damages of Rs 1.90 billion has been made against Manindraj Malla, the Nepal representative of Muehlbauer. The Commission has stated that the intention was to gain illegal benefits through mutual collusion, planning and involvement between civil servants and supplier companies.

The Commission has concluded that the bid evaluation, including technical and financial evaluation, was conducted in a manner that was contrary to the prevailing law.

The CIAA filed a case today on charges of corruption that caused a loss of Rs 10.13 billion the Department of Passport, says CIAA Spokesperson Suresh Neupane.

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