Leeladevi Gadtaula to take over as Acting Chief Secretary

Kathmandu: Leeladevi Gadtaula, Senior Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office, will take over as Acting Chief Secretary following the suspension of Chief Secretary Dr. Baikuntha Aryal.

 She is senior to Narayan Dawadi and Krishnahari Pushkar, who are also employed as secretaries in the Prime Minister's Office.

  Aryal and other government officials were the target of a lawsuit filed by the CIAA on Friday.

The allegations stem from Aryal's decisions, made during his tenure as the secretary of the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, to purchase excise duty stickers from Surakshan Printing Center, which cost the state exchequer billions of rupees.

 Chief Secretary Aryal has been placed on automatic suspension as per the The CIAA Act 2048, Section 17.

 A provision in Section 17 states that a person holding a public office shall be automatically suspended for the duration of the case until the case is settled.