Suspended lawmakers jailed

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE


KATHMANDU: The Special Court today sent Gayatri Shah and Bishwonatha Prasad Yadav, the two suspended Constituent Assembly members being tried for misuse of diplomatic passport to prison after they failed to pay the demanded bail amount.

A three-member bench set the bail amount at Rs 1.5 million for Nepali Janata Dal lawmaker Shah and Tarai Madhes Loktantrik Party (Nepal) lawmaker Yadav.

Along with them, Section Officer of Immigration Office Bhuminanda Bhandari has also been jailed as he could not pay the bail amount of Rs 1 million. The bench also summoned other accomplices — Chief Immigration Officer Shyam Babu Bhandari, Senior Investigation Officer Devi Dutta Khatri, Computer Officer Indra Kumar Sunuwar and middleman Santosh Raj Upreti and CA member Shah’s father Hari Charan—within 15 days to face charges as per Section 10 (1) of the Special Court Act, 2002.

Citing evidences and documents produced by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority, along with the charge sheet, the bench stated that Prithivi Chhantyal and Sita Shah had flown with diplomatic passports belonging to Yadav and Shah, and were arrested in Abu Dhabi Airport and deported to Nepal. “This fact could not prove that shah and Yadav were not involved in the offence, thus the bail amount had been determined for their release,” the bench added.

On May 11, the CIAA had prosecuted them on corruption charge demanding up to 15 years jail sentence. Immediately after being charge sheeted, their CA memberships were suspended as per Section 33 of the Corruption Prevention Act, 2002. The CIAA also charged the duo of selling their diplomatic passports at Rs 16 million with the help of Upreti and demanded eight years to ten years jail for them as per Section 3 (1) of the Corruption Prevention Act, 2002 and additional two years jail for tampering with diplomatic passports as per Section 11 of the Act. Also, accusing them of misusing their position as CA members, the anti-graft body demanded three years additional jail sentence with Rs 16 million in fine, the money they made by selling their passports and confiscation of an equal amount.

In their statement at the court, Yadav denied the charge and said he did not even go to Abu Dhabi Airport and was not involved in the offence while Shah said she had handed over her diplomatic passport to Upreti for obtaining visa to Canada but was not involved in any wrongdoing.