Lalita Niwas land grab case: CIB notes statements of former prime minister duo Bhattarai, Nepal

The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police recorded the statements of former prime minister duo Baburam Bhattarai and Madhav Kumar Nepal in connection with the Lalita Niwas land grab case.

The statements of the former prime ministers were recorded at a time there were rumors that the CIB was preparing to submit the investigation report without interrogating Bhattarai and Nepal.

Meanwhile, taking to Facebook, Bhattarai said that he informed the CIB about the truth after various questions were raised regarding the decision taken by his cabinet.

“I have fulfilled my duty by giving truthful information to the CIB as per my public commitment regarding the questions related to the decision taken by his Cabinet in the Lalita Niwas land scam during my tenure,” he said.

He expressed his belief that this case will be a milestone to end all types of corruption and irregularities.

The Bhattarai’s Secretariat said that Bhattarai responded to all the questions against him by calling the CIB officials at his house.

Four years ago, a case was filed against the then prime ministers Madhav Nepal and Baburam Bhattarai in the Lalita Niwas land grab case.

The hearing of the case has not been held yet.

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During the Madhav Kumar Nepal government, Bijay Kumar Gachhadar of the Nepali Congress served as a Minister of Physical Infrastructure and Deep Basnyat was the secretary at the ministry. It was during their tenure that they decided to fraudulently register plots of land in the names of numerous individuals and fake tenants.

The Nepal Cabinet had made a decision to expand the prime minister’s residence and construct a road within Lalita Niwas by compensating individuals who had illegally occupied the land. This agenda was brought by Gachhadar in the Cabinet. It has been found that the Nepal Cabinet made three different decisions in three separate meetings, providing an opportunity for the accused parties to engage in the scam.

All of the decisions were against the law. Several members in the Nepal Cabinet have stated that Lalita Niwas-related matters were never discussed during meetings, indicating the potential direct involvement of former prime minister Nepal.

The probe committee identifies Shova Kanta Dhakal and Ram Kumar Subedi as key individuals involved in the scam, labeling them as ‘land mafias’. From the early stages of the scam, these individuals have been implicated, as they still hold over 15 ropanis of Lalita Niwas land in their names, even after selling 30 ropanis of land to others.

The proprietor of Bhatbhateni Supermarket, Min Bahadur Gurung, and his family are owners of more than 29 ropanis of Lalita Niwas land. They acquired the land from Dhakal and Subedi. Furthermore, the duo also sold approximately five ropanis of land to former election commissioner Sudhir Kumar Shah.

When Bhattarai was prime minister, his Cabinet decided to transfer around three ropanis of land of Nepal government to ‘Pashupati Tinkinchha Guthi’ but the Trital-led committee had been unable to find about this Guthi. Neither the ministry officials nor the Guthi stakeholders know about the existence of this Guthi, raising suspicion against Bhattarai in the land grab case.