Lawmaker duo´s passport to disgrace

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

ABUSE OF AUTHORITY
KATHMANDU: The two lawmakers who had ‘sold’ their diplomatic passports are now paying the price for the deed.

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority today filed corruption cases against Gayatri Shah and Bishwanatha Prasad Yadav — representing Nepali Janta Dal and Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum-Nepal, respectively — at the Special Court seeking jail sentence up to 15 years. With the CIAA chargesheet filed, both Shah and Yadav automatically lost their Constituent Assembly membership as per Section 33 of Corruption Prevention Act, 2002.

CIAA has also filed corruption cases against seven others, including Chief Immigration Officer at Tribhuvan International Airport Shyam Babu Bhandari, Section Officer Bhuminanda Bhandari, Senior Investigation Officer Devi Dutta Khatri, Computer Officer Indra Kumar Sunuwar, Santosh Raj Uprety, who is said to be running a passport forgery racket, and Gayatri’s father Haricharan Shah for working as their accomplices.

The CIAA has charged the CA members with selling their diplomatic passports for Rs 16 million with the help of the accomplices and demanded 10 years in jail for the crime as per Section 3(1) of the Corruption Prevention Act, 2002, while additional two-year jail sentence has been sought for tampering the red passports as per Section 11 of the Act. Accusing the lawmakers of misusing their honourable positions they held by getting involved in the offence, CIAA has also demanded additional jail sentence of three years, Rs 16 million fine and confiscation of property equalling to the same amount.

CIAA has prosecuted Shah and Yadav based on its investigation which had found that the duo had sold their passports for Rs 16 million with the help of a mediator named Santosh Uprety. The chargesheet claimed that Shah and Yadav had received the money from Prithivi Chhantyal, Manoj Karki and Ashish Sherpa and that Sita Shah had paid Rs 2 lakhs to Gayatri’s father Haricharan.

Citing the chargesheet, SC Registrar Dhir Bahadur Chand said the lawmakers had tampered the passports with the help of immigration officials and affixed photos of Chhantyal and Sita on them. Those who bought the red passports, however, have not been made the defendants by CIAA.

Surendra Mahato, a lawyer hired by the CA members, however, claimed that the CIAA prosecution even after Kathmandu District Court released his clients on bail based on the police prosecution in forgery case ‘proved that the state was driven by bias and was complicating the case’.