Those arrested on Sunday, include NEA director Arjun Kumar Chauhan, retired co-director Shashi Bikram Thapa, deputy director Mahesh Kumar Karki, former general manager Yugal Kishor Sah, manager Hari Bahadur Gaashi, assistant manager Nimesh Kumar Pokharel, electrical engineer Rambijul Mandal and engineer Suraj Prasad Sah.[break]
“The CIAA has sent them to custody and is investigating into the matter,” CIAA Spokesperson Shridhar Sapkota told Republica. The anti-corruption body had earlier arrested around two dozen officials, including NEA Managing Director Rameshwar Yadav, involved in the transformer procurement scam. CIAA has already filed cases at the special court against the accused NEA officials, the Chinese supplier and its local representatives.
CIAA had started investigations after the use of substandard transformers caused explosions and excessive power leakage. A three-member probe committee formed earlier by NEA on the issue had found that around 1,275 transformers purchased from Hubei Sunlight Electric Co Ltd, China were of low quality. NEA´s tests in its lab and other labs showed that the transformers had aluminum wires instead of copper wires.
“Those arrested on Sunday were also involved in procuring substandard transformers but from a different supplier,” said Sapkota. In the previous case, the anti-corruption body in its investigation found irregularities worth Rs 410 million.
Similarly, CIAA on Sunday filed a case at the Special Court against Dr Akhilesh Prasad Singh of Narayani Sub-regional Hospital Birgunj, Babulal Prasad Yadav, chairman of the hospital development committee, and committee members Rekha Ghimire and Radheshyam Sonar for appointing 24 employees in the hospital on the basis of a fake document.
According to the commission, they had prepared a fake document that said the hospital development committee had taken the decision to appoint 24 employees though the committee was yet to hold a discussion on the matter. The commission also recommended the ministry of health to take departmental action against section officer Jawaharlal Prasad Yadav on the charge of involvement in unauthorized recruitment of 83 employees at the district health office in Rautahat.
Likewise, the commission also filed a case at the Special Court against some officials who collected road tax at Majhimtar and Dharke in Dhading and misused the money. Those accused are Birendra Mahaseth, chief of the divisional office of the road department in Bharatpur, accountant Bishnu Prasad Paudel and other officials Raghunath Subedi, Raj Kumar Katuwal, Khageshwar Dhakal and Ramkaran Mahato. CIAA has accused them of embezzling Rs 2.426 million.
Related story
CIAA arrests three NEA employees with bribe
-1200x560-1779450784.webp)
