PARLIAMENT COMMITTEE DIRECTIVE TO GOVT.

Kathmandu, 28 Dec.: Parliament’s public accounts committee Tuesday directed government to cancel operating licenses of casinos that don’t settle their dues to government.
The dues to government should be settled within one month, the committee decided.
The committee called for more effective monitoring of activities of 10 casinos



RUBEL CHAUDHARY ASKED TO FURNISH WRITTEN REPLY IN 15 DAYS

Kathmandu, 28 Dec. A single bench of the supreme court Monday asked Rubel Chaudhary, Bangladeshi son-in-law of Deputy Prime Minister Sujata Koirala, to submit a written reply to the apex within 15 days on a complaint filed against his by a lawyer.
The lawyer in a writ claimed Chaudhary was including in scams causing nearly Rs 500 million in losses while supplying armed personnel carriers logistics to Nepal Police UN peacekeeping mission in Sudan.
Chaudhary came into additional disrepute with former Crown Prince Paras this month at a lodge in Chitwan.
He is being protected by influential persons.
NC came into controversy after siding with Chaudhary against Paras following the Chitwan altercation.
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ATTEMPT TO SAFEGUARD ARMY WELFARE FUND

Kathmandu, 28 Dec.: At a time when the Army Welfare Fund is fighting hard to withdraw huge deposits from some troubled financial institutions, the government has instituted a high-level taskforce to recommend measures to check possible risks that might arise due to possible collapse of those financial institutions, Republica reports.

The eight-member task force formed as per a ministerial decision taken on December 22 has been asked to submit its report within two months.

“The taskforce has been mandated to prepare working procedures for the welfare fund to prevent additional funds being exposed to financial risks emerging from possible collapse of deposit-taking institutions,” said a knowledgeable Nepal Army (NA) source asking not to be named. Besides,the mechanism will review and revisit the present status of the welfare fund.

The government has picked Defense Accounts Controller Dwarika Prasad Acharya, a government joint secretary, as the coordinator of the taskforce. Rajendra KC, under secretary at the Ministry of Defense (MoD), is member secretary of the mechanism.

Other members include Laxmi Prasad Gautam and Jaya Kumar Katwal, MoD legal and accounts officers respectively, and Chetnath Bhattarai, joint-secretary at the National Security Council.

Army headquarters has yet to depute three NA representatives to the taskforce. One officer each from the Directorate of Welfare Schemes, Planning Directorate and Legal Department, of the ranks of lieutenant colonel or colonel, will represent NA in the mechanism.

Despite NA´s repeated claims that it deposits welfare fund money in financial institutions only after thoroughly scrutinizing their financial status, over Rs 400 million from the fund is currently said to be at risk.

NA has deposited Rs 149.2 million in Nepal Sri Lanka Merchant Bank, Rs 60 million in United Development Bank and Rs 16 million in Samjhana Finance, but none of these financial institutions has been able to return the deposits to the welfare fund.

Interest earnings on deposits is one of the major sources of income for the fund. However, receiving interest has become far-fetched when even the principal is hard to recover.

“The fund´s money has been deposited in over 60 financial institutions. Who knows, the hard-earned money of servicemen may be at risk in other places as well,” said a major-general requesting anonymity.

About Rs 180 million from the fund deposited at Nepal Development Bank, which is undergoing a liquidation process, is also going to be difficult to recover.

The fund is accumulated by deducting a maximum of 22 percent per head per month from the allowances of NA personnel serving in UN peacekeeping missions. Each soldier deputed on such missions generally draws a monthly allowance of US$1,028. Likewise, NA deducts 5 percent per person per month from military observers and deposits the sum in the fund.

The current cash balance of the fund, both in local and foreign currency, stands at Rs 16 billion. NA is to receive four billion from the UN as reimbursements.
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ANOTHER ACCUSED RELEASEDD ON LOW BAIL

Kathmandu, 28 Dec : Then Kathmandu District Court judge Narendra Sibakoti, currently a Janakpur Appellate Court judge, also controversially released on low bail culprits involved in multiple offenses including murder and kidnap, Bimal Gautam writes in Republica.

Republica has learnt from Kathmandu District Court (KDC) that Sibakoti, in his capacity as KDC judge, had released Ram Kumar Shrestha and Pratik Shrestha, arrested along with Sanjay Shrestha, Rohit Paliwan Agrawal and Bhimsen Pandit on charges of murder and kidnapping.
The verdicts issued by Judge Sibakoti on January 8, 2009 shows that Ram Kumar was released on a Rs 75,000 bail in one kidnap case. He was arrested on three separate charges--two kidnappings and a murder. Sibakoti released him on bail of Rs 25,000 for the second kidnap and on Rs 45,000 bail in the murder case.

The decision to release Ram Kumar on very low bail in all three cases was taken on January 8, 2009.

Sibakoti released another culprit, Pratik Shresth, on even lower bail. Pratik was also arrested for the two kidnappings and murder.

Pratik was released on Rs 25,000 bail in the murder case on April 22, 2009. Sibakoti also released Pratik on Rs 75,000 and Rs 25,000 bail in the two kidnapping cases the same day.

Details of the decisions to release Ram Kumar and Pratik on very low bail in such severe cases come at a time when a high-level probe headed by Supreme Court Justice Bal Ram KC has found SC Justice Rana Bahadur Bam and two appellate court judges--Hari Bahadur Basnet and Tej Bahadur Karki--culpable in similar controversial decisions.

The Judicial Council (JC) has already recommended to parliament to initiate impeachment proceedings against SC Justice Bam. Heutada Appellate Court Judge Basent resigned following the probe´s findings and the JC is deciding the fate of Judge Karki shortly. Karki defended his decisions in clarifications submitted at the JC.

Asked about Judge Sibakoti, Chief Justice and Chairman of the JC Ram Prasad Shrestha said, "We have not yet received any complaints against him. We will initiate appropriate moves immediately after we receive complaints."

Documents at Kathmandu District Court show that police arrested Ram Kumar and Pratik after arresting Sanjay Shrestha, Rohit Paliwan Agrawal and Bhimsen Pandit. All five were involved in murder and kidnap including the kidnap of Dr Bhaktaman Shrestha a few months ago.

The JC had formed a probe after those arrested for kidnapping Dr Shrestha admitted in statements before police that they often bribed judges to stay out of detention and they kidnapped Dr Shrestha later to recover money they used to bribe judges.

The probe had concluded that judges Bam, Basnet and Karki have shown dishonesty, incompetence and non-transparency while releasing the culprits.
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