Regional administrator sends DFO to jail on charge of corruption

Regional administrator of the Far-Western Development Region, Ganesh Sherchan, has ordered to detain District Forest Officer (DFO) of Kailali, Yogendra Yadav, on charge of corruption.

District Administration Office of Kailali had taken a truck-load of natural herbs into custody in May last year on charge of trying to evade taxes and had interrogated three staff at the District Forest Office. Regional administrator Sherchan, during his recent trip to Kailali, also interrogated DFO Yadav and asked him to report to his office at Dipayal. When he reported to regional administrator’s office on Thursday, Yadav was asked to post a bail of Rs 500,000. When he did not oblige, he was sent to custody.

While under custody, Yadav spoke to local reporters and alleged that regional administrator Sherchan had asked him for a donation of Rs 500,000 to mobilize people fro forthcoming municipal level elections. He said he was sent to jail since he could not bribe him. He further said he was not involved in any wrongdoings.

Talking to Nepalnews over phone from Dipayal on Friday, regional administrator Sherchan, however, refuted allegations leveled against him by DFO Yadav. “Such allegations are but natural when you take action against somebody on charge of corruption,” Sherchan said. “There will be a fair trial and we will work in accordance with law.”

Sherchan said Yadav had been detained on the basis of authority delegated to regional administrators by the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA). “His Majesty The King has launched a campaign to root out corruption from the country and we will take action against corruption bureaucrats in accordance with law,” he added.

Critics, however, say fair trial is next to impossible when there is no representative system of governance in the country. Transparency International (TI)—a global corruption watchdog—recently said corruption had, indeed, increased in Nepal after the royal takeover of February 1, last year. nepalnews.com by Jan 14 06