Nepal’s probe agency questions 2 ex-PMs in Lalita Niwas land scam

Nepal’s top probe agency has interrogated former prime ministers Madhav Kumar Nepal and Baburam Bhattarai for the first time for their alleged roles in the high-profile Lalita Niwas land grab scam, the investigative agency said on Monday. The land grab scam took place during the prime ministerships of Nepal and Bhattarai, as the Cabinet headed by them made policy-level decisions in the matter. Nepal and Bhattarai were interrogated on Sunday night in connection with the ongoing investigation into the scam, the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) spokesperson Navaraj Adhikari said.
It is alleged that a huge area of valuable land belonging to the government was grabbed by some brokers with the help of senior government officials and some politicians by creating fictitious owners. The CBI officials of the Nepal Police have recorded the statements from Nepal and Bhattarai in connection with the land-grab scam involving valuable land pieces adjoining the Prime Minister’s official residence at Baluwatar in Kathmandu, he said. This is the first time that the CIB has taken statements from the former prime ministers in the case.
Madhav Kumar Nepal is currently the chair of the CPN (Unified Socialist) party, while Bhattarai heads the Nepal Samajbadi Party. Nepal was prime minister from May 25, 2009 to February 6, 2011, whereas Bhattarai was prime minister from August 29, 2011 to March 14, 2012.