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Prime Minister and CPN (Maoist Center) Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said that the gold smuggling scandal would be taken to its final conclusion.

He pledged that investigation would be conducted getting to the root of this scam and all the culprits would be brought to book.

The Prime Minister and party chairperson said this while addressing the party office-bearers meeting held at his official residence in Baluwatar today.

He made it clear that the government is firm on taking the gold scam, corruption scandal and irregularities to the final conclusion.

The Department of Revenue Investigation had on July 19 confiscated around 100 kg of gold from Sinamangal. The government is carrying out an investigation in this connection. So far 18 people have been arrested in connection with the gold smuggling scam.

Expressing the commitment to taking the gold scam to its conclusion, PM Dahal said the support and cooperation of all was needed for that.

The PM in the meeting said that the culprits would not be spared while the innocent would not be held, CPN (Maoist Centre) secretary Dinanath Sharma said.

Party Deputy General Secretary Barshaman Pun has called for forming a high-level committee to investigate the gold smuggling scam.

He said all those connected to the scam should be brought under the ambit of investigation and legal action be taken against them.

He said that the propaganda has been spread linking his name as well in this scam with the intention of derailing the campaign against corruption and irregularities that the government has brought by influencing this campaign.

Pun stressed on making successful the campaign against corruption and irregularities pursued by the government.

The Maoist Centre's office-bearers' meeting is being held continuously for determining the agenda of the party's Central Committee meeting scheduled to be held from August 2. Today's meeting was convened in that connection.

Party Chairperson Dahal will be presenting the political and organizational report in the Central Committee meeting.

Discussions were held in the meeting today regarding this topic as well.

Similarly, preparations have been made to render the party's organizational structure more efficient by organizing the Statute Convention in the coming Mangsir (mid-November to mid-December).

Meeting would be live-streamed

According to CPN (Maoist Centre) Secretary Sharma, the Central Committee meeting would be broadcast live.

He said this is being done with the objective of directly providing a glimpse of the meeting's proceedings to the general public and party cadres.

He said unlike before wherein group discussions used to be held, all the Central Committee members would be provided time to air their views this time.

Before this, the Nepali Congress had also live-streamed its Central Committee meeting in the social site.

The Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives has drawn the attention of the government to form a high-level probe committee to investigate the 100 kg gold smuggling case.

A meeting of the Accounts Committee held on Sunday demanded formation of a high-level probe committee to carry out a fair investigation into the 100 kg gold smuggling scam.

Nepali Congress lawmaker Arjun Narsingh KC, who chaired the committee as a senior citizen, drew the attention of the government to form a high-level probe committee to launch an independent investigation into the gold smuggling case.

In the meeting, CPN-UML lawmaker Yogesh Bhattarai said that a high-level probe committee should be formed to investigate the latest  gold smuggling case.

Bhattarai, also the secretary of the UML, said that the Home Minister and the Finance Minister should also be investigated.

The UML has been saying that the gold could not be passed from the Tribhuvan International Airport without the involvement of ruling coalition leaders.

So far, police have arrested 18 persons in connection with the gold smuggling case.

On July 19, the Revenue Investigation Department had confiscated around 100 kg of gold concealed inside brake shoes ‘imported’ from Hong Kong in the name of Ready Traders from Sinamangal.

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.

Police have arrested a Chinese national in connection with the gold smuggling case.

The immigration took the Chinese national under control from the Tribhuvan International Airport while he was preparing to leave the country and handed him over to the Revenue Investigation Department.

The Revenue Investigation Department recovered around one quintal gold from Singamangal on Wednesday.

Police said that the gold, passed undetected through the Customs Office of the Tribhuvan International Airport, arrived in Kathmandu on Tuesday's Cathay Pacific flight.

The gold was brought in Kathmandu by concealing in the brake shoes of motorbikes and scooters.

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