The investigation found that Malla was engaged in various incidents of theft involving a total of around Rs. 8 million, and cases against him were registered on November 16.[break]
“We have registered 20 different cases against Corporal Rom Bahadur Malla at the Military Special Court as we found him involved with several theft incidents,” said Laxmi Prasad Gautam, spokesperson and member of the Military Investigation Committee.
“Malla has been found stealing gold and cash from different rightful owners,” he said, adding, “Complaints have been registered against him by the public from 2009 till now.”
The Department of the Judge Advocate General (JAG) under the Nepal Army (NA) had written to the Defense Ministry on September 1, 2011 to carry out investigations on Malla.
The accused is now in prison as per an order of Kathmandu District Court.
“The military court may slap a certain number of years in prison or release him on bail,” informed Gautam.
Section 62 of the Army Act 2063 empowers the committee to carry out investigations and file cases against army personnel. However, the committee cannot conduct investigations without official notification from NA.
Asked about the low number of cases filed in military court, Gautam said, “We have filed cases in response to all the notices we have received from the army. The Army Act has given us the power to register cases, but the regulations state that the committee needs to be notified by the army prior to investigating and filing cases.”
The committee initiated work three years ago and has filed five cases on charges of theft and two cases on charges of corruption so far.
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