DUBIOUS BACKGROUND OF STATE MINISTER LAMA

TEACHER FOUND DEAD

Kathmandu, 17 April: Teacher Yogendraa Shah, 35, who had gone missing early this month in Bajura was found head—probably murdered, police suspect.
Shah’s body was found Saturday at a cliff near Ritha Bazzar.
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DUBIOUS BACKGROUD OF STATE MINISTER LAMA

BIKASH SANGRAULA
Kaathmandu, 17 April: Lahr Kyal Lama´s inclusion in Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal´s government last Tuesday miffed many CPN (UML) leaders who are still struggling to explain to themselves why a novice in national politics was chosen over more experienced party members, Bikash Sahgraula writes in Republica..

But CPN (UML) leaders are not the only ones scratching their heads. Lama´s former associates, some top level bureaucrats closely acquainted to him, and people well-known in the Tibetan Buddhist community, say they were baffled to hear that the man of “questionable character” has risen to the rank of a state minister.

In the past decade, the minister of state for finance was at the center of a number of serious scandals both in Nepal and in the United States, a fact he admitted to Republica while vehemently claiming innocence.

Dual passport holder?

While Republica uncovered nearly half-a-dozen scandals in which Lama´s name is linked, four of them appear worthy of mention.

People who know Lama inside-out say he is the holder of two passports -- a Nepali one by the name of Dr Lahr Kyal Lama, and an Indian one by the name of Khenpo Chime Tsering Lama.

Secondly, he is accused of “stealing” US $ 50,000 from an American woman while operating the Pema Tsal Meditation Center in New York.

Thirdly, he faced allegations in the past of misusing government letter-pads and seal for recommending US refugee visas to Tibetans while being chairman of the Local Development Ministry´s High Level Monastery Management Committee (HLMMC) between 2001 and 2006.

Lastly, he is accused of using the title “Dr” without holding a PhD degree.

Lama´s Defense

Taking Republica´s questions over the phone on Saturday evening after avoiding five phone calls since Friday evening, Dr Lama admitted that he courted all these controversies in the past, but claimed he came clean on all of them.

When reminded that newspapers carried photocopies of the two passports back then, he claimed, “When I was chairman of the High Level Monastery Management Committee, some people with malicious intent made an Indian passport using my name and photograph and circulated photocopies to the media.”

Lama admitted that his Buddhist name is Khempo Chime Tsering, while his name in citizenship certificate is Lahr Kyal Lama.

The state minister claimed police conducted a thorough investigation back then and found him innocent.

“I am a Nepali citizen. An investigation conducted by crime investigation section of Hanumandhoka back then proved that I had done nothing wrong,” he said.
When asked which police officer conducted the investigation, he replied, “Ganesh KC.”

But Senior Superintendent of Police KC, who is now posted at police headquarters, denied knowledge of any such investigation and suggested Republica to inquire the matter with Superintendent of Police Hari Pal, who headed Crime Investigation Branch, Hanumandhoka (now known as Investigation Section of Metropolitan Police Range, Kathmandu) at that time.

SP Pal also said that no such investigation was conducted. “I can recall the scandal. But, no one lodged a complaint, and therefore there was no investigation,” he added.

According to a police source, then Home Minister Khum Bahadur Khadka, who appointed Lama as chairman of HLMMC during Sher Bahadur Deuba´s government in 2001, prevented police from formally accepting the complaint. Therefore, the case was never investigated, the source said.

Members of the Tibetan Buddhist community and a top level bureaucrat, who closely monitored developments back then, say definitively that Lama holds a Nepali and an Indian passport.

A Buddhist spiritual leader was even sympathetic towards Lama.

“Many people hold dual passports in Nepal,” said a Kathmandu-based spiritual leader defending Lama. “Why single him out?”

Years before finding himself at the center of the passport scandal, State Minister Lama was involved in another serious scandal that landed him in a New York court.
According to information gathered by Republica, the Pema Tsal meditation center that he started in New York in 1999, met an untimely death in 2006 largely due to a scandal involving US $ 50,000.

Lama faced charges of stealing the sum from an American lady, who is a follower of Buddhism. The State Minister sought an out-of-court settlement, which he was granted by a New York court.

The state minister admitted to being involved in the incident, but said it was a result of misunderstanding. He also said that he shut down the meditation center not because of the scandal, but after being unable to find time to oversee it, as he was busy at HLMMC. He claimed he returned the full sum to the woman.

“Such things (scandal) happen is the course of work,” he said. “The money came to us as donation. The donor later wished to get it back. The matter was settled out of court with the mediation of a New York lawyer. I have documents to prove it,” he said. Lama´s former associates, including those who held responsible positions at the HLMMC, say he abused his position by issuing visa recommendations on official letter pads of the committee bearing government seal.

“Lama helped many people get US visas by wrongfully certifying that they were long-serving chiefs of fictitious monasteries,” said a top bureaucrat. “He ran an office at his residence where he used government letter pads and seal to issue such recommendations. He charged hefty sums for issuing such recommendations,” he said.
Members of Lama´s community admit that people made it to the United States with Lama´s help.

“I have friends in the United States who say they got Lama´s help,” said Khenpo Nima Dorje, the sitting chairman of HLMMC, “But I don´t know the nature of the assistance,” he added.

The state minister, though, flatly denied the allegation. “I never misused government documents and seal. I am ready to face any punishment if found guilty,” he said.
Lastly, Lama is accused of using the title used by PhD holders without holding a formal PhD degree.

Lama says be received doctorate in Buddhism studies at the Ngagyur Nyingma Institute of Higher Buddhist Studies and Research Center in Mysore, India.

When asked whether the center is a formal university, Lama said it isn´t.

According to HLMMC chairman Dorje, Lama completed studies at the center and was given the title of Khenpo.

“In Buddhism studies, receiving the title of Khenpo is equivalent to receiving doctorate,” Dorje said.

Lama was born in Helambu in 1967.

His most recent venture is the Siddhartha Foundation, a non-governmental organization based in Kathmandu.

His biography posted on the webpage http://www.khenpo.com/en/bio.html of the foundation´s website says he is “the spiritual leader of more than a hundred Nyingma monasteries” in Helambu, which, members of the Buddhist community say, is untrue.

“He was never the chief of any monastery in Helambu, let alone the chief of hundreds of monasteries,” a Buddhist spiritual leader said.
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