Kansakar jailed after failing to pay Rs 60m bail

REPUBLICA

KATHMANDU, Feb 27: The Special Court on Sunday sent Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) suspended Executive Chairman Sugat Ratna Kansakar to jail after he failed to submit a bail amount of Rs 60 million.

Kansakar, who had been absconding following the filing of a graft case against him by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), had appeared during the hearing in the case Sunday.

“SC demanded Rs 60 million as bail from Kansakar. He has been sent to Dillibazar prison after he failed to submit the amount on Sunday,” Special Court Registrar Dhir Bahadur Chand told Republica.

Chand added that Kansakar would be released after he submits the bail amount.

Special Court staffers had to wait for over three hours after office time on Sunday as Kansakar made failed attempts to arrange bail.

Earlier, the Special Court had summoned Kansakar on February 14 but he failed to turn up.

The court had issued first summons to Kansakar and five other senior officials for December 27. Kansakar had then refused to receive the summons letter saying that the address mentioned in the letter was wrong. Then the court on February 14 served him second summons but he failed to turn up. The Special Court cannot issue arrest warrant.

Concluding that Kansakar and five others officials embezzled Rs 57.3 million by sending non-refundable money to the Airbus company flouting Public Procurement Act, the CIAA had filed a case against them at the Special Court on December 25.

Except for Kansakar, four other NAC officials had presented themselves before the court as summoned. The court had sought Rs 1.5 million bail each from two officials and Rs 500,000 each from three others. Three NAC officials deposited bail of Rs 500,000 each.

According to the findings of CIAA investigation, the decision to release and forward Rs 57.3 million to Airbus was taken without the approval of the NAC board of directors.

Including Kansakar, the CIAA had filed corruption case against Acting Assistant General Managers Raju Bahadur KC and Ganesh Thakur, Acting Director Gyanendra Purush Dhakal, Director Mayur Sumsher Rana and Acting Deputy Director Keshav Raj Sharma.