Kathmandu. A special court has convicted Nagarjun Municipality Mayor Mohan Bahadur Basnet on charges of taking bribe by undervaluing the land for the residential project of Padma Colony in Sitapaila.
A division bench of Special Court Chair Tek Narayan Kunwar and member Ram Bahadur Thapa found Basnet guilty of taking bribe of Rs 92.24 million. According to the special court, Basnet had earned Rs 131.2 million from corruption as he failed to disclose the source. The special court has arrested The Colony Pvt. Ltd. involved in bribery transactions. Ltd. Raju Kandel, the proprietor of the company, has been convicted.
Padma Colony Pvt. Ltd. Ltd. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had filed a case with the Special Court with evidence that Mayor Basnet had taken bribe by taking a policy decision to benefit the merchant company.
The special court has decided to pay bigo to the two companies who paid bribes.
Kandel has been acquitted by the special court in the case of illegal earnings. Mayor Mohan Basnet’s wife Urmila Basnet has also been cleared.
Nagarjun Municipality had agreed to get Rs 7.48 billion to buy land for the academy to be built in the name of Jagatguru Kripaluji Maharaj. The CIAA claimed that Basnet later benefited from the increase in the price of the land.
The CIAA had claimed that Mayor Basnet had taken undue advantage by keeping the valuation of the land worth Rs 477.5 million at a total of Rs 1.9 million. He was accused of paying Rs 21.5 million through a bank account for bribe transactions and Rs 68.2 million while purchasing land. During the investigation of the CIAA, it was revealed that the expenses for the son’s marriage were also paid by the investors of Padma Colony. Mayor Basnet had spent Rs 2.47 million for the wedding.
Basnet will be sentenced to eight to 10 years in jail as per the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. He is left with the option of filing an appeal against the special court’s decision through a writ petition in the Supreme Court.
