Corruption Case Against Former Vice-Chancellor of Rapti Academy of Health Sciences Set for Hearing

Kathmandu. The corruption case against 13 individuals, including the former Vice-Chancellor of Rapti Academy of Health Sciences, Prof. Dr. Sangeeta Singh Bhandari, has been scheduled for a hearing at the Special Court. The case is listed for hearing before the bench of Special Court judges Narayan Prasad Paudel and Bidur Koirala.

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) filed the corruption case at the Special Court on the 23rd of Ashwin, concluding that corruption occurred during the purchase of an MRI machine, implicating Vice-Chancellor Bhandari and 12 others.

The CIAA filed the case against former Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Sangeeta Singh Bhandari, acting Registrar Jhankar Lamichhane, Finance Manager Kailash Prasad Dev, Biomedical Engineers Sharad Bhandari and Amit Kumar Chaudhary, Deputy Finance Manager Nitin Kurmi, Section Officers Chhaya DC and Shriram Chaudhary, IT Officer Hiralal Bhandari, Civil Engineer Madan Bhandari, and Senior Assistant Anju Sharma. Also named as defendants were Sujata Bhattarai, the former Biomedical Engineer from the Department of Health Services, and the supplier company Lumbini Healthcare Pvt. Ltd. along with its chairman, Post Raj Gyawali.

The Commission has claimed a total principal amount of NPR 120,760,946 from all defendants and demanded punishment. It also demanded the recovery of NPR 93,426,619 that has already been paid.

The CIAA concluded that corruption occurred through collusion between the officials of the Academy and the supplier company following an investigation into complaints of financial irregularities in the purchase of a low-quality MRI machine.

According to the CIAA, the Academy sought a budget without preparing a procurement master plan or identifying needs. Technical specifications were prepared in a manner favorable to a specific company (Lumbini Healthcare Pvt. Ltd.), violating the Public Procurement Act.