Kathmandu, October 8
A case has been filed at the Special Court against seven individuals in connection with the Pokhara Lichhibari land scam.
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) filed the case on Wednesday against then Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration Raj Kumar Gupta, Minister for Land Management Bal Ram Adhikari, former Minister Ranjeeta Shrestha, and others.
The CIAA has demanded a recovery of 7.8 million rupees from Gupta and Shrestha. Similarly, cases have also been filed against Ram Chandra Adhikari, Yam Kumari Gurung, Tulsi Ram Budha Magar, and Kham Bahadur Pun. The recovery amount demanded from each is as follows: Adhikari – Rs 5.3 million, Gurung – Rs 2.5 million, Budhamagar – Rs 7.8 million, and Pun – Rs 2.5 million.
On July 12, 2025, an audio recording surfaced in which then Minister Raj Kumar Gupta was heard accepting a Rs 5.3 million bribe. He reportedly took the money in exchange for transferring the chief of the Kaski Land Revenue Office and appointing a favorable person to the post.
Following the revelation, and as per court orders, Gupta resigned after the audio in which he was heard assuring land registration and promising to appoint a suitable official, went public. As the investigation expanded, it was also revealed that Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation Bal Ram Adhikari had accepted bribes from Sujan Lama of Pokhara.
Further details emerged showing that former minister and chairperson of the Nagarik Unmukti Party, Ranjeeta Shrestha, had also received money multiple times. Evidence submitted to the CIAA included her text messages saying, “I need cash, I’ll send the driver.”
Additionally, the then Secretary Arjun Pokharel was also found to have accepted money and even ordered kalij (wild fowl) from Pokhara, according to leaked reports.
Those attempting to register the land had been trying to get the then Chief Land Revenue Officer Ram Chandra Adhikari transferred to the Kaski office, while some landowners holding ownership certificates wanted Chief Officer Chiranjiwi Poudel to remain in his post.
During this period, a series of leaked audio recordings, revealing negotiations, bribe deals, and corrupt conversations, surfaced one after another in July.
Minister Bal Ram Adhikari was also directly implicated in the scandal. The leaks showed that Sujan Lama handed over Rs 3.2 million to the minister’s son Manoj and deposited Rs 500,000 into the account of his brother Shalikram. Another leaked audio claimed that land revenue employees in Pokhara had paid Rs 7 million to ensure that Chiranjiwi Poudel remained as Chief of the Land Revenue Office.
