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

 

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. 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.

 

The Commission has said 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.