Punish Land Grab Culprits

The investigation into the Lalita Niwas land grab scam has concluded with around 250 persons being implicated for their involvement in the organised crime and forgery of documents while transferring the ownership of the government land to private individuals. The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police submitted the investigation report to the District Government Attorney's Office, Kathmandu Tuesday. The CIB has recommended prosecuting four former ministers, six former secretaries, scores of government employees and other individuals for their involvement in one of the country’s biggest forgeries that triggered public uproar against the political and administrative leadership. The report has named two former prime ministers as the witnesses of the land grab fraud. It has exposed the malfeasance of the then leadership of Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Land Reform and Management that are supposed to provide services to the citizens in a transparent manner.

The high profile persons accused in the forgery include former deputy prime minister and Nepali Congress leader Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar, former ministers Chandra Dev Joshi and Dambar Bahadur Shrestha, former state minister Sanjay Sah Takla and former chief commissioner for the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) Deep Basnyat. Shrestha has been made an absconding defendant. Similarly, Shobhakant Dhakal, Ram Kumar Subedi and Bhatbhateni Supermarket owner Min Bahadur Gurung are the prime suspects, who acted as land mafias. The CIB officials took the statements of former prime ministers Baburam Bhattarai and Madhav Kumar Nepal. The two former PMs also came into the radar of CIB’s probe after the Supreme Court on August 6 gave a ruling to investigate all those involved in the land transfer fraud. The District Attorney Office, Kathmandu will file the case in the Kathmandu District Court within 60 days after studying the report.

Lalita Niwas that covers around 300 ropanis of land has a history of almost a century. In 1987 B.S., the then Rana prime minister Bhim Shumsher had bought the land that also included a palace named after Lalita Devi, the female clan deity of Rana family. Hiranya Shumsher, the son of Bhim Shumsher, received the land as a parental inheritance. Then it was handed down to Hirany Shumsher’s son Subarna Shumsher, who was also a founder of Nepali Congress. In 2021 B.S., the then Panchayat government acquired the major portion of this land by giving compensation to its owners as per new land law, according to a report prepared by a committee formed under former secretary Sharada Prasad Trital. A series of studies have showed that the documents related to the reparation were systematically destroyed to illegally capture the government land. 

Currently, the Lalita Niwas area includes the office of Nepal Rastra Bank and residences of Prime Minister, Chief Justice, Speaker and Chairman of the National Assembly. A road was built to bifurcate it into two parts in 2066 BS. One section was plotted, registered and sold to over 100 individuals by the land mafias. It was usurped four times on different dates - 2049 B.S., 2062 B.S. 2066 B.S. and 2069 B.S. The CIB has so far arrested 18 persons out of 406 against whom arrest warrants were issued. The legal process against the fraudsters must not be delayed on any pretext. The CIB’s meticulous efforts to gather evidences have drawn huge public support. This also demonstrates the government’s commitment to maintain good governance and create a corruption-free society.