NC STUDENT WING TO PROTEST PLANNED AMNESTY OF MAOIST LAWMAKER CONVICTED FOR MURDER

NSU TO PROTEST PLANNED AMNESTY FOR MAOIST LAWMAKER CONVICTED FOR MURDER

Kathmandu, 10 Nov.: Nepal Students’ Union (NSU)—student wing of main opposition NC—is disrupting traffic movement in the capital temporarily Thursday morning protesting a government to amnesty Maoist lawmaker Bal Krishna Dhungel.
Cabinet is asking President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav to pardon Dhungel who has been sentenced to life imprisonment with confiscation of property; he’s moving around freely.
Fraternal organizations affiliated with UML--another
opposition party—staged public protests Wednesday on the capital’s streets
against the cabinet decision
Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai chaired a cabinet meeting that decided to amnesty Tuesday before emplaning for Maldives to attend a 17th SAARC summit in Maldives.
UML student activists during Wednesday’s street demonstrations also charged government for inducting Suryaman Dong as minister of state for energy although he’s on the most wanted list of Nepal Police for murder in neighbouring Kavre district and an arrest warrant has been issued.
nnnn


17th SAARC SUMMIT TAKES OFF THURSDAY

Kathmandu, 10 Nov.: The annual 17th
SAARC summit takes off in Maldives Thursday.
Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai is leading the 11-member Nepali delegation to the talks.
PM Bhattarai addresses the summit
Thursday.
A proposal to hold the 18th South Asian
summit in Nepal in 2012 was endorsed by
a meeting of foreign ministers of SAARC
ahead of the summit.
nnnn

EVACUATION OF STRANDED TOURISTS COMPLETED; NORMAL FLIGHTS LUKLA RESUMES THURSDAY

Kathmandu, 10 Nov.: Normal flights to Lukla from the Nepalese capital begins Thursday with
Wednesday’s evacuation by fixed wing and helicopters of the last batch of 871 tourists.
More than 3,500 tourists were stranded in the Mount Everest region—a popular destination for trekkers
following disruption of flights for one week after inclement weather.
Nearly 50 flights operate between the capital and Lukla every day, picking up and dropping mainly trekkers to the Everest area.
Nnnn

MEDIA GOOGLE

‘Not much academic is happening at TU. As
a result, the country is facing several forms of conflicts.:

“Prof.Dr. Yogendra Adhikari of TU Centre for Nepal and Asian Studies (CNAS), Republica, 10 Nov.(
Nnnn

“The four-point agreement for the formation of government is wrong anti-national. That’s why, can’t join such a government.”

(UML leader and former premier Madhav Kumar Nepal urging a government headed by NC, Nagarik, 10 Nov.)
Nnnn


PRESIDENT TO REVIEW PRACTICES BEFIRE AMNESTYING
MAOIST LAWMAKER CONVICTED FOR MURDER

Kathmandu, 10 Nov.: President Ram Baran Yadav has said that he will review international practice and consult experts before taking any decision on the government´s request to grant pardon for murder convict and Maoist Lawmaker
Balkrishna Dhungel, Republica reports .

Talking to a delegation of Nepal Bar Association (NBA) and rights groups, who met President Yadav on Wednesday to urge him not to approve the pardon plea for the Maoist lawmaker, the president said, "I will act as per the Constitution."

During the meeting the delegation strongly objected the government´s move of recommending pardon for lawmaker Dhungel and urged him not to approve the pardon.

They said the act of seeking pardon for Dhungel, who has been convicted of murdering one Ujjan Shrestha of Okhaldhunga, not only goes against the constitution but also undermines the rule of law and accountability.

During the meeting with the president, Nepal Bar Association Prem Bahadur Khadka explained that the government recommendation for pardon violates the constitution on two grounds.


First, an application filed by victim´s family member seeking implementation of the verdict is subjudice in the Supreme Court and the head of the state cannot intervene on any such case, even if he has power to grant pardon. Second, Khadka highlighted that there was no ground for granting pardon in a case in which the verdict was never implemented in the first place.

He was of the view that Dhungel could have appealed for pardon if he had accepted the verdict and served the jail term.

"The case involving Dhungel is not a political one, it is a case of murder on account of personal animosity," said Khadka.

Dhungel has been slapped life sentence with property attachment for the murder of Shrestha. Though the Supreme Court upheld the conviction slapped by a lower court on Dhungel in 2010, the verdict has not been implemented till date.

However, in a mockery of the country´s legal system, Dhungel continues to roam free despite the life term on him.

In the meantime, Khadka said NBA is very much concerned about the government move as it encourages impunity. He said NBA has called a meeting of its advisory committee, comprising its former president and senior advocates, to discuss the issues, for Friday.


"NBA is ready to take to the street if it comes to that for stopping the pardon for Dhungel," warned Khadka.

In the meantime, human rights organizations, political parties and political leaders have condemned the government decision to recommend pardon for Dhungel.
“I humbly ask the president to consult the Supreme Court and other bodies before taking a decision in this case," said Subodh Raj Pyakurel, chairman of Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC) in a statement, "This case might pave way for granting pardon to other individuals and organizations involved in human rights violation."

Similarly, NGO Federation of Nepal, Human Rights Alliance and Accountability Watch have also expressed their concerns over the government´s recommendation to seek pardon for a murder convict.

Nepali Congress central committee leader Dr Shekhar Koirala said the government´s decision seeking pardon for Dhungel has undermined the rule of law.

Similarly, Madhesi People´s Rights Forum (MPRF) Nepal has also condemned the decision saying such a move will encourage grave human rights violations in the country. "The party demands the government to withdraw the decision," MPRF said.
nnnn


CIAA FINDS 400 OFFICIALS HAVE FAKE EDUCAATIONAL CERTIFICATES

Kathmandu, 10 Nov.: About 400 government employees ranging from police personnel to civil servants and school teachers have been initially found guilty of possessing and using fake educational certificates, says the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), Bimal Gautam writes in Republica.

The apex anti-graft body´s four-year long preliminary investigation has brought civil servants, teachers, officials working at various corporations, police personnel under the scanner for possessing tampered academic certificates.

Following its preliminary probe, the CIAA has set up a six- member team to exclusively verify the certificates. A team comprising members from CIAA, Tribhuvan University (TU), Higher Secondary Education Board (HSEB) has left for India for final verification of the certificates of government employees.

"The number of police personnel both in Nepal Police and Armed Police Force (APF) is high for allegedly possessing fake certificates," CIAA Secretary Bhagwati Kafle revealed.

After police officers, the number of teachers from across the country is high for using tampered certificates. The CIAA has been carrying out the preliminary probe for last four years. Those found guilty in the commission´s initial investigation had submitted forged certificates for either getting appointment at various government agencies or to get promotion in different timeframes within the institutions concerned.

According to Secretary Kafle, the team will verify suspicious certificates in Patna, Banaras and Darbhanga universities. The fake certificates include intermediate, bachelor´s and master´s levels.
• CIAA sends six-member team to India to verify suspicious certificates
• Probe team to verify suspicious certificates in Patna, Banaras and Darbhanga universities
• Trend of tampering certificates from Nepali universities high
• Many applying for British, Indian armies and going abroad are having tampered certificates
"Various sources have lodged complaints at the commission stating that the number of army personnel using fake certificates is equally high," said the source. Unfortunately, the CIAA is not legally allowed to carry out investigation against army personnel. So, there has not been any investigation into the prevalence of fake certificates among army personnel.

The CIAA said that it would file corruption cases at the Special Court against those found guilty in final verification. Of the total six team members, four will stay in India for 20 days while two members will return to Nepal after 10 days of verification.

"We deployed the team as per as our preliminary investigation report," Secretary Kafle added.

20% Nepali certificates found fake

CIAA Secretary Kafle said that the trend of tampering with certificates from Nepal´s universities has been on the rise. "Our initial investigation shows that 20 percent out of the total Nepalis who have certificates from universities have been possessing fake certificates," he added.

According to him, those who have been applying for job opportunities in British and Indian armies have been possessing highest number of fake certificates.

After them, those who wish to go abroad, especially in oil-rich gulf countries, and has to produce their academic certificates for good job opportunities but lack original certificates, have been possessing highest numbers of fake certificates.
Nnnn



________________________________________




JUNIOR DEPUTED AT SENIOR’S HOUSE IN POLICE

Kathmandu, 10 Nov.: In what could be termed absolute depravity existing in the police department, a senior officer of Nepal Police has been found misusing his power and authority by engaging junior police personnel to work as domestic help, Ravi Dhami reports in The Himalayan Times. ..

It came to the fore after The Himalayan Times today caught the cops in act — painting the house of SSP Netra Prasad Acharya, who is also the acting chief of Technical Directorate of Nepal Police Headquarters, in Chuchepati. Some were busy making furniture. The cops, who are paid by the state, were ‘deputed’ at the SSP’s house for his personal benefits.

However, it is not new in the police force to use low-ranking police personnel as home servants. The act, nonetheless, is in gross violation of Police Act.

When asked, Head Constables Ram Bahadur Tamang, Akshay Kumar Nepal, Gautam Chaurasiya, Dipesh Thapa, Dal Bahadur Magar, Gunendra Shrestha and Ghanshyam Pulami said they had been working in SSP Acharya’s house for the past one week as painters and carpenters. “We, as members of police force, cannot say no to the boss’ order. It is the culture in police department,” said one of the cops, whose identity has been withheld to save him from possible retribution.

Admitting that he was using the state agents for his personal benefits, SSP Acharya promised that he would replace the cops with civil labourers ‘without delay’, but it was too little too late — the cat was already out of the bag and a day’s work had already been captured by THT lensman. What is interesting is SSP Acharya was ‘generous’ enough to pay Rs 20 every day to each of the cops as ‘lunch expenses’ for the work done from 9am-4pm. Spokesperson for Nepal Police DIG Binod Singh said the department would investigate into the incident. “No one from the department is allowed to work and cause others to work as domestic help. We will see whether the cops were on leave and will also dig deep to find out on what grounds they were working in the SSP’s house,” said DIG Singh.

Under Relief and Reform Programme introduced by the home ministry on September 14, Home Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar had vowed to end the trend of keeping security personnel as domestic help. As per the programme, those officials found guilty of keeping cops as their domestic help are liable to departmental action.
Nnnn

PRIVATE BANKS INCREASE ASSETS
Kathmandu, 10 Nov.: Can you guess which is the largest bank in Nepal?

Not surprising, Rastriya Banijya Bank (RBB) is the largest bank in Nepal based on its total assets size of the balance sheet, Kuvere Chalise writes in The Himalayan Times.

It holds almost 10 per cent of the total assets of the commercial banks followed by Agriculture Development Bank Nepal (ADBN) and Nepal Investment Bank, according to the unaudited report of the fiscal year 2009-10 of the 31 commercial banks. The government-owned Rastriya Banijya Bank has Rs 81.22 billion worth assets which is 9.75 per cent of the total assets of the 31 commercial banks that stands at Rs 832.74 billion.

Agriculture Development Bank Nepal is ahead of Nepal Investment Bank marginally. The ADBN has Rs 59.37 billion worth assets that is 7.13 per cent, whereas Nepal Investment Bank has Rs 59.10 billion worth assets, which is 7.10 per cent of the total assets of the banks.

The private sector bank Nepal Investment Bank is fast closing the gap to become the second largest bank in Nepal meaning government-run banks are losing their grip. The size of the assets of banks can give a range of competition and comparable institutions. “It is one of the tools to measure banks based on total assets of balance sheet but it does not reflect the performance of banks, it includes only market share,” according to share analyst and chairman of the SRCS Rabindra Bhattarai.

From the assets size, the banks can be divided into four groups; largest (with above Rs 60 billion worth assets), large (Rs 40 billion-Rs 60 billion), middle (Rs 20 billion-Rs 40 billion), and small (with below Rs 20 billion worth assets).

Only one commercial bank features in the largest bank category, whereas eight banks feature in the large banks category. The middle banks category has seven banks and the small banks category has 15 banks among the 31 commercial banks. The huge gap in the size of the banks calls for the necessity of merger immediately. The size of the banks can give some indications on which banks should be merged and how can a strong bank be formed.

The merger could be successful, if many banks of equal size be merged and made a competitive one. The data also revealed that the government banks have been dominating currently but the private banks are coming to give them tough competition.

Top five

• Rastriya Banijya Bank Rs 81.22 billion

• Agriculture Development Bank Rs 59.37 billion

• Nepal Investment Bank Rs 59.10 billion

• Nabil Bank Rs 58.94 billion
nnnn