The District Government Attorney’s Office (DGAO) in Kathmandu has initiated legal action against 290 individuals in the Kathmandu District Court for their involvement in document forgery related to the Lalita Niwas land scam.
This lawsuit follows the case filing based on an investigative report and recommendations provided by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of the Nepal Police. Among the 290 individuals named as defendants in this case, which pertains to the illegal appropriation of public land, 52 individuals have been specifically accused of being involved in the fraudulent acquisition of land.
The DGAO has requested a three-year prison sentence for former ministers, secretaries, and other government officials implicated in forgery and a one-year sentence for all other defendants.
Additionally, the DGAO aims to recover claims exceeding Rs. 18 billion from the accused parties.
Among the defendants are former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Physical Planning Bijay Kumar Gachchhadar, former Minister for Land Reforms Chandra Deo Joshi, former Minister for Land Reforms Dambar Shrestha, and former Minister of State Sanjay Kumar Shah.
The fraudulent acquisition of 143 ropanies of public land was orchestrated using counterfeit official documents and a systematic approach, as outlined by the CIB. In response, the CIB had recommended that the District Attorney’s Office take legal action against 286 individuals involved in this illicit activity.
With inputs from RSS
