Kathmandu July 7 : Arrest warrants have been issued against five former secretaries in connection with the Lalita Niwas land scam case. The former secretaries named in the decision to confiscate the government land in the Lalita Niwas residential area, including Yuvaraj Bhusal, Deep Basnyat, Chhabiraj Pant, Dinesh Hari Adhikari, and Narayangopal Malegovi, have been granted permission by the court to proceed with the investigation.

In the Lalita Niwas land scam case, 17 employees, including former secretaries, have been implicated. An officer of the police informed about the arrest warrants against them. One of the former secretaries, Sudhir Shah, has already been arrested. The immediate former secretary, Kaladhar Deuja, has been released after submitting the necessary documents based on an interim order from the court. The police informed that the search and investigation against the remaining accused are ongoing.

The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of the Police has been conducting an investigation into the Lalita Niwas case in accordance with the Muluki Ain 2020 (General Code) and the Organized Crime Prevention Act 2070 (OCPA)BS. According to the police officers, after the arrest warrants were issued, security personnel deployed to protect Basnyat have been found absent. The officer also provided information about the investigation against other accused individuals. He used to be the former chief commissioner of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA).

From Jestha 8, 2074, to Magh 29, 2074, Basnyat held various positions as a secretary, including in physical planning and construction in different ministries. Pant and Regmi were appointed ministers in the non-elected government led by Khil Raj Panta. From Asar 28, 2066, to Magh 14, 2067, he served as the secretary of land reform. During that time, he prepared files to transfer government land to individuals and sent them to the Cabinet for approval.

Due to the decisions made to transfer the land in the name of Guthi (religious trust) registered under 2062/63, and the comment order issued, Bhushal has been criticized. He has disclosed the police source that issued the arrest warrants against them. Both the former secretaries are involved in the case of land registered in Guthi. At that time, Bhushal was a secretary. In addition, Basnyat and Pant were included in the decision to allot land for the expansion of the Prime Minister’s, Chief Justice’s, and Speaker’s official residences under 2066/67, which is related to the land mafia and fake Mohi.

During the controversy, Madhav Kumar Nepal was the Prime Minister, Vijay Kumar Gachhadar was the Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Physical Planning. Both demanded an investigation. Both former secretaries and Malego were involved in creating individuals using land registered in Guthi. In the decision to transfer the land, Basnyat was the secretary. After that, they were included in the Cabinet decision, which approved the comment order and sent it to the Cabinet for approval. Basnyat and Pant were included in it. They were then working as secretaries in the Ministry of Physical Planning and Land Reform.

At that time, Madhav Kumar Nepal was the Prime Minister, and Vijay Kumar Gachhadar was the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Physical Planning. They had raised questions about the need for an investigation. Both former secretaries and Malego were involved in transferring land registered in Guthi. Basnyat, who was a secretary at the time, issued the comment order. Likewise, Bhushal was a secretary in the Ministry of Physical Planning and Land Reform from Kartik 23, 2068, to Kartik 14, 2069. He also issued the comment order to transfer the land registered in Guthi.

The recent investigation conducted by the bureau reveals that more than 143 Ropanis of land have been illegally acquired between 049 and 069BS. The investigation reveals the involvement of the Prime Minister, ministers, secretaries, under-secretaries, surveyors, and employees of Guthi in the land acquisition case and organized crimes.

The investigation also exposes the manipulation of government documents, forging fake files claiming rights and privileges, and employees being bribed with land until the work is done. In this case, on Magh 22, 2076 BS, the authorities had filed a case against former Deputy Prime Minister Gachhadar and 110 others, including imprisonment, fines, and confiscation of 65 plots of land. The police had initiated an investigation into this case, and on Asar 12, some of the accused were arrested.

Additionally, four more individuals, including the former Under-Secretary and former Election Commissioner Sudhir Shah, and Min Bahadur Gurung, the owner of Bhatbhateni Supermarket(BMS), have been accused in four separate cases involving more than 400 peoples. While the number of accused has increased due to the inclusion of individuals in four separate cases, the personal involvement is seen to be around 240 people in this crime.