Anti-Graft Body Files Corruption Case Against 10 Including Former Provincial Hospital Chiefs in Siraha

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case against 10 individuals, including two former office chiefs (Medical Superintendents) of the Provincial Hospital, Siraha.

 The charge sheet was filed at the Special Court in Kathmandu on Tuesday against 10 individuals, including former office chiefs Dr. Nagendra Prasad Yadav and Dr. Saroj Yadav, on the charge of misappropriating revenue collected from the hospital's ticket counters.

According to the CIAA, service fees collected from the hospital's 8 bill counters during the fiscal year 2080/81 were found to have been misappropriated without being deposited in the bank. During the investigation, a discrepancy of NPR 3,877,724.83 was found when reconciling the income shown in the software records with the vouchers deposited in the bank. 

The CIAA concluded that this government money was willfully embezzled, and the office chiefs failed in their responsibilities, abetting the irregularities.

The other defendants against whom the case was filed include former Administration Chief Ashok Kumar Singh, former Accounts Chief Ashok Kumar Yadav, and employees working at the bill counters: Shyam Kumar Mandal, Roshan Kumar Yadav, Saraswati Kumari Yadav, Ajay Kumar Mandal, and Puja Kumari Yadav. The employees are accused of colluding to hide software data and deposit less money in the bank than the actual income.
Furthermore, although the former Accounts Chief Ratna Prasad Mandal has passed away, his wife, Muskan Kumari Mandal, has also been named as a defendant for the purpose of recovering the government funds he misappropriated, as per the law. The CIAA statement mentioned that claims for fines equivalent to the claimed amount and imprisonment as per the Prevention of Corruption Act have been sought against all defendants.