Four individuals, including the head of the office, have been found guilty of embezzling government funds by falsely claiming the construction of a non-existent school building in Dolpa district.
A bench of the Special Court, led by Chair Sudarshan Dev Bhatt with members Dilliratna Shrestha and Bidur Koirala, ruled that corruption had occurred in the name of constructing a school building.
The court found that false and forged documents were prepared to misuse funds under the pretext of building a two-classroom structure for the non-existent Durga Primary School in Dolpa.
The convicted include:
- Ravichandra Panjiyaar, former Chief of the District Technical Office, Dolpa
- Maniram Kurmi, Accountant
- Nandasinh Budha, Chairperson of the Consumer Committee
- Sangita Budha, Treasurer
The court sentenced each of them to one year and six months in prison and imposed a fine of NPR 190,000 per person.
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had filed the case in the Special Court on Asar 18, 2082, alleging corruption in the name of school construction. The court delivered a summary verdict, noting that preparation of the full text of the decision would take more time.
During the investigation, it was revealed that a consumer committee was formed, and claims were made that a two-classroom building had been constructed for Durga Primary School in the former Dunai VDC wards 2 and 3, with NPR 760,000 allocated from the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction.
However, the defendants argued that no school named Durga Primary School existed in the ward and that the funds had actually been spent on Laligurans Basic School’s building. The court noted that the minutes of the school management committee at the time contained no decision regarding building construction.
The court concluded that funds were misappropriated through collusion and false documents in the name of a non-existent school and held the defendants guilty.
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