Kathmandu – Nepal’s Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case against 13 individuals, including former Vice Chancellor of(RAHS), Prof. Dr. Sangita Singh Bhandari, and then-acting registrar Jhankar Lamichhane.
The case, filed on Thursday at the Special Court in Kathmandu, alleges financial irregularities worth Rs 6.26 million during the procurement of an MRI machine for the academy.
According to the CIAA, the MRI machine was overpriced, and the irregularities have caused significant financial loss to the government.
The procurement deal originally claimed a value of Rs 120.7 million, but the actual agreed price for the machine was reportedly only Rs 114.5 million.
The anti-graft body contends that the inflated price led to unjustified payment and has demanded recovery of the same amount from those involved.
So far, Rs 91.9 million has already been paid to the supplier, CIAA stated in its complaint.
Alongside Dr. Bhandari and Lamichhane, the accused include key officials from RAHS such as Finance Manager Kailash Prasad Dev, Biomedical Engineer Sharad Bhandari, Deputy Finance Manager Nitin Kurmi, and IT Officer Hiralal Bhandari.
Others charged include TU Teaching Hospital Biomedical Engineer Amit Kumar Chaudhary, Civil Engineer Madan Bhandari, Senior Assistant Anju Sharma, and Biomedical Engineer Sujata Bhattarai.
The case also names Lumbini Healthcare Pvt. Ltd., the supplying company, along with its chairperson Post Raj Gyawali, as primary players in the alleged corruption.
CIAA has demanded full restitution from all the accused, citing deliberate manipulation in the procurement process that burdened public funds and violated procurement norms. The case is now set to proceed through Nepal’s Special Court.
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