Kathmandu: Two main accused in Lalita Niwas land grab scam have been released. The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police released Ram Kumar Subedi and his wife Madhavi Subedi arrested for an investigation into the much-talked-about case.
CIB Spokesperson and SP Shyam Kumar Mahato said that they were released as the accused can’t be kept for more than 25 days in custody without filing a case. A team mobilized from the CIB had arrested them from Swoyambhu in the Capital on December 21.
The filing of the case in the scam has been delayed after the government attorney office returned a probe report citing it to be incomplete.
Chief of district government attorney office Ganga Prasad Poudel said that the report was returned asking for a further investigation stating that some claims can’t be established if a case is filed based on the report.
CIB had recently submitted the report and all necessary files after completing a two-year-long investigation into the much-talked-about case. A team led by DSP at CIB had conducted an investigation into the scam.
It was revealed through the investigation that the government land was converted to individual ownership in four phases. According to a CIB investigation officer, it was found that the land was transferred in 2049 BS, 2062 BS, 2067 BS, and 2069 BS in the names of individuals and guthi (social trust).
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) on February 5 had filed a case against 110 people including former Deputy Prime Minister Bijay Kumar Gachhadar in the controversial land scam while 65 persons and organizations were named defendants to regain the land. They have been accused of transferring the public land into individual ownership.
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