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The main opposition CPN-UML has demanded fair investigation into the smuggling of around 100 kg gold that had passed undetected through the TIA customs.

Speaking in today's meeting of the National Assembly, UML lawmaker Devendra Dahal demanded the formation of a probe committee comprising representatives of the government and various political parties in this regard.

"A high-level probe committee should be formed. If there is no fair investigation by forming such a committee, such incidents of smuggling will continue," he said.

In case of the formation of a parliamentary probe committee, it should also involve representatives of the members of the National Assembly, he said.

He also demanded the response from Home Minister and Finance Minister in the Parliament relating to the security of the airport and probity of customs office while calling for bringing the respective minister and the chief of the airport, and customs office employees under the scope of investigations.

Referring to the airport customs chief and the security chief, who stayed on leave when the gold smuggling took place, he suspected something fishy in the case.

Mentioning that a huge cache of gold was smuggled into Nepal through the airport on July 19, he said, gold smuggling is a serious issue.

"Nepal has become a transit for gold smuggling," he said.

Shortly after Dahal put forth his views, the UML protested the advancement of the Parliament business by the NA Chair Ganesh Prasad Timilsina.

Following the protest, Timilsina said that the schedule for NA members to put their view during the zero hour had been removed.

Finance Minister Dr Prakash Saran Mahat said that the government will provide full support to the probe committee to investigate the gold smuggling case in an independent manner.

Inspecting the Tribhuvan International Airport on Thursday, the finance minister said that some staffers have been suspended after the gold smuggling case, expressing commitment to allow the probe committee to investigate the case independently.

He claimed that the probe committee will find out whether it is the machine or the human weakness in the gold smuggling case.

Minister Mahat said that he has directed the authority concerned to bar the entry of unauthorized persons in the Customs Office.

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Saying that the people could use new technologies to commit crime, he opined that the technologies in the customs office should also be changed as per the time.

Minister Mahat further said that he has already held discussions with the concerned authorities of the airport for the same.

Finance Minister Mahat had inspected the arrival, departure and customs area of the airport.

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha had also inspected the customs area after the gold smuggling case.

Earlier on July 20, the Revenue Investigation Department had recovered around 100 kg of gold that passed out of airport’s customs without being detected from Sinamangal.

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) is delaying investigation into the alleged misuse of approximately Rs 4bn released for the salary and well-being of Maoist combatants kept in cantonments.

The investigation had remained dormant for nearly two years, during which the CIAA could only obtain expenditure details related to the Maoist combatants from the Ministry of Peace.

As per the information provided by the ministry to the CIAA, a total of Rs 9.79bn was spent on the salary and well-being of Maoist combatants over a span of nine years. Out of this amount, Rs 5.88bn was allocated solely for paying the salaries of these combatants. Additionally, Rs 2.76bn was utilized for logistics, Rs 261m for infrastructure development, and Rs 273.71m was allocated for other miscellaneous expenses, according to the letter sent by the ministry to the CIAA.

The CIAA took a policy decision to investigate the incident after it concluded that the funds released for Maoist combatants by the then Army Integration Special Committee had been misused. The individuals under investigation include former Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, former Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai, former Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara, and other Maoist commanders.

The Maoist party has been accused of embezzling tens of millions of rupees from the national treasury by creating fake combatants. Initially, there were 32,250 combatants in various cantonments after the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) was signed between the Maoist party and the government in 2006. However, the United Nations Mission to Nepal (UNMIN) verified only 18,500 of them as legitimate combatants. Subsequently, around 4,000 soldiers under the age of 18 were sent home. Even though UNMIN verified 19,600 as Maoist combatants, during the categorization process for integration into the Nepal Army or reintegration into society, only 17,074 combatants were present, approximately 3,000 less than the verified number.

Since the beginning of the peace process, over Rs 20bn has been spent on managing Maoist camps and supporting the combatants over a period of six years.

CIAA investigation has concluded that approximately 50 percent of the verified combatants were found to have been created solely for documentation purposes, intending to misuse state resources. The Maoist party has been accused of generating fake documents for around 3,000 soldiers who never actually existed, all in an effort to embezzle their salaries.

Complaints filed at CIAA state that salaries of about 6,000 soldiers have been embezzled over a period of nearly five years.

Nepali Congress (NC) Spokesperson and Finance Minister Dr Prakash Saran Mahat said that the party adheres to a policy of zero- tolerance against corruption and irregularities.

Speaking at a press meet held at the NC central office in Lalitpur on Wednesday to unveil the decisions of the party's central working committee, the leader said, "The Congress always stands for good governance."

He added that the Nepali Congress is committed to not protecting any individuals involved in any offense.

Mahat said every person is considered innocent until proven guilty in accordance with the law.

According to the party spokesperson, the Nepali Congress has lifted its disciplinary action against rival candidates in the latest three-level elections.