Lalita Niwas land-grab scam: Two more arrested

Police today arrested two more people in connection with the Lalita Niwas land-grab scam. SSP Dinesh Acharya of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police said that the arrested ones were the then non-gazetted first class officer Ramesh Kumar Pokharel and Dev Narayan Maharjan.

Police on Sunday had arrested three more alleged culprits on the charge of forging government documents to transfer the ownership of government-owned Lalita Niwas land in Baluwatar area in Kathmandu to private individuals or to fake tenants.

Earlier, police arrested four people allegedly involved in the land-grabbing scam and the court has extended their remand. So far, a total of nine people have been arrested in connection to the infamous scam including some high profile individuals. The public property of Lalita Niwas in Baluwatar was brought under the ownership of many individuals from 2049 BS to 2069 BS.

Earlier, the CIB had submitted a report with its opinion to the District Public Prosecutor’s Office making some 300 defendants. But the Office had sent back the report stating that further investigation into the scam was needed.