Kathmandu: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has registered a case against 13 individuals including former Vice Chancellor of Rapti Academy of Health Sciences (RAHS), Prof Dr Sangeeta Singh Bhandari and former acting Registrar Jhankar Lamichhane. CIAA’s spokesperson Rajendra Kumar Paudel stated that the case pertains to the procurement of a substandard quality MRI machine.
According to National News Agency Nepal, the case was registered after a complaint regarding financial irregularities in the procurement process. The CIAA has filed a charge sheet against Bhandari, accusing her of misappropriating Rs 120 million 760 thousand 945.
The case also involves the Academy’s former acting registrar Jhankar Lamichhane, former finance manager Kailash Prasad Dev, biomedical engineer Sharad Bhandari, Kathmandu-based biomedical engineer Amit Kumar Chaudhary, and the Academy’s deputy finance manager Nitin Kurmi. These individuals face similar charges in connection to the procurement irregularities.
Additional charges have been filed against section officers Chhaya DC and Shriram Chaudhary, Hiralal Bhandari, former civil engineer Madan Bhandari, senior assistant Anju Sharma, and former biomedical engineer Sujata Bhattarai. Lumbini Healthcare Pvt. Ltd. and its chairperson, Posta Raj Gyawali, are also implicated in the case. The CIAA seeks the recovery of Rs 120,760,946 from those charged.