Government pond illegally registered in private name: Corruption case filed against three

By TRN Online, Kathmandu, Feb 2026: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case at the special court against three for illegally registering government public land, identified as a pond, through collusion by staff of the Land Reform and Land Revenue Office in Jaleshwor, Mahottari in the private name.

The CIAA filed the charge sheet on Monday after verifying that five Kaththa and 12 Dhur of land under the plot number 127, situated in former Itaharwakatti VDC- 3, Manara Sisawa Municipality -2, had been illegitimately registered into private ownership.

Based on the information of CIAA, officials intentionally utilized land records to take government land.

During survey, the field book recorded the land as “certified barren land,” while the remarks column clearly identified it as a pond. Despite this classification, land revenue officials registered the land in the name of Rajiv Kumar Thakur.

 No documentary or procedural evidence found how the land legally came under Thakur’s ownership in the investigation.

Officials illegally transfored,erased and added entries in the original land registers and entered the manipulated records into the computer system only in mid July 2025.

The CIAA included that  Non -gazetted Paramananda Shah, First-Class Officer, and  Rabindra Kumar Singh, Computer Operator  prepared land ownership records and certificates through mutual collusion, even though the government had issued no notice or decision allowing the registration of such omitted  public land.
According to a letter from the Land Reform and Land Revenue Office, Jaleshwar, the office fixed the minimum valuation of the land at Rs. 300,000 per kaththa, bringing the total value to Rs. 1,725,000.

Treating this amount as the loss, the CIAA has sought imprisonment and fines equivalent to the loss against Paramanand Shah and Rabindra Kumar Singh under Sections 8, 9, and 11 of the Corruption Prevention Act, 2002.

CIAA spokesperson Suresh Naupane said the CIAA has  sought punishment and recovery of the loss from Rajiv Kumar Thakur, who benefited by keeping the government land registered in his name, treating him as a principal offender.

After the CIAA filed the case at the Special Court, demanding strict action against those who tampered with records and prepared false documents with corrupt intent over public property, the case has caused serious concern within Mahottari’s land administration.