Lalita Niwas land-grab: CIB submits probe report to Attorney’s Office

The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police has submitted the investigation report on the Lalita Niwas land-grab case to the District Government Attorney’s Office, Kathmandu.

The bureau has suggested that those arrested in the case be prosecuted for forgery and organized crime. After a 57-day investigation, it has recommended prosecution of more than 200 individuals. As part of the probe, the CIB had also recorded statements of two former prime ministers Madhav Kumar Nepal and Baburam Bhattarai. The duo has been cleared by CIB and not named on the list of defendants. 

The bureau has recommended the government not to prosecute those who have returned the land.
Police had taken a statement from former minister and Congress leader Vijay Kumar Gachchdar in the case on Monday evening. Statements of former minister Chandradev Joshi and former state minister Sanjay Shah were also recorded. Police have not been able to take the statement of former minister Dambar Shrestha, who remains at large. All the four former ministers have been made defendants.

The CIB has submitted a report with four separate opinions with the conclusion that the land belonging to Lalita Niwas was misappropriated on four different occasions, when approximately 143 ropanis of land was unlawfully registered in the names of various individuals.

Earlier, the CIB issued arrest warrants against 406 individuals including several high-profile officials.
The bureau started investigating the case in 2019 in relation to forged documents and fake governmental stamps related to Lalita Niwas land transactions. In Jan 2022, it concluded its investigation and submitted a report to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, recommending further action against around 300 individuals involved in the scam. 

However, a week later, the government attorney returned the report, stating that additional investigation was necessary.

The government at the time asked the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) and CIB to promptly investigate the case of Lalita Niwas after the Trital committee submitted their report to the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

After a year-long investigation, the CIAA filed a charge-sheet against 175 individuals at the Special Court in Feb 2020, accusing them of participating in the illegal registration of Lalita Niwas land in the name of various individuals.