Former Minister Gupta and Others Face Corruption Case Hearing

Kathmandu. A hearing has been scheduled at the Special Court against former Minister of Federal Affairs and General Administration, Rajkumar Gupta, and 7 others in the Pokhara land scam case. The hearing is scheduled in the bench of Special Court judges Narayanprasad Koirala, Hemant Rawal, and Dilliratna Shrestha. The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had filed a corruption case at the Special Court on October 22, 2082, alleging that the then minister Gupta took a bribe of 53 lakh rupees from a real estate businessman to stop the transfer of the chief officer of the Land Revenue Office in Kaski and to appoint him as a member of the Land Commission. The CIAA had accused Minister Gupta and former minister Ranjita Shrestha of abusing their positions in mutual collusion and taking a bribe of 25 lakh rupees to provide work facilities. According to the CIAA, the evidence of bribe and illegal transaction totaling 78 lakh rupees was confirmed through audio evidence, bank transaction details, and digital forensic examination reports. The digital forensic lab's examination concluded that the audio and video materials matched the defendants and were not tampered with. The CIAA had filed a corruption case against Minister Gupta and 7 others on October 22. Former minister Ranjita Shrestha, then chairperson of the Nagarik Unmukti Party, was also implicated in this case. The CIAA launched an investigation after an audio recording between the two was leaked. In the audio conversation with Minister Gupta, a middleman was heard saying, 'Pokhara's land is looking at you expectantly, keep 25 (lakh) now, we will eat fish in Majhkuana after the work is done.'