Pradip Adhikari, Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), who was arrested on charges of corruption related to the construction of the Nalinchok Heliport, will remain in judicial custody.

 

On Friday, the Supreme Court upheld the Special Court’s order to keep Adhikari in detention for trial. A joint bench of Justices Hariprasad Phuyal and Shantisinh Thapa endorsed the earlier decision of the Special Court.

 

Earlier, on December 6 (Mangsir 21), a joint bench of Special Court judges Hemant Rawal, Dilliratna Shrestha, and Bidur Koirala had ordered Adhikari to be kept in custody. Challenging that order, Adhikari had filed a petition at the Supreme Court on January 5 (Poush 21).

 

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case alleging financial irregularities amounting to Rs 135,746,213.77 in the construction of the Nalinchok Heliport. According to the CIAA, the project proceeded without submitting the mandatory Detailed Study Report and without completing required legal and procedural steps.

 

The CIAA has named seven defendants in the case, including CAAN Director General Pradip Adhikari, then Director Murari Bhandari, then Deputy Manager and current Manager Bikram Thapa, then Senior Officer and current Deputy Manager Samriddhi Shrestha, consultant Gurudatta Adhikari, Abhiyantra Consulting Pvt. Ltd., and the company’s then Managing Director Bijay Thapa.