Suspended Sarlahi mayor found guilty in two major corruption cases

KATHMANDU: The Special Court has delivered a major verdict, finding suspended Mayor of Bagmati Municipality in Sarlahi, Bharat Kumar Thapa, guilty in two separate corruption cases on the same day.

The court ruled that Thapa caused multi-billion-rupee losses to the government through irregularities in the construction of the controversial “Bharat Lake” and also amassed illegal wealth through illicit means.

The verdict was announced late Wednesday night by a bench comprising Special Court Chairperson Tek Narayan Kunwar and members Murari Babu Shrestha and Bidur Koirala.

With this ruling, Thapa—who had been suspended since March over corruption allegations—now faces removal from his position as mayor.

Bharat Lake Scandal: Rs 302.9 Million in Corruption

In the first case, the court found that corruption amounting to Rs 302.9 million took place during the construction of Bharat Lake.

Alongside Mayor Thapa, then-Chief Administrative Officer Bimal Kumar Pokharel and engineer Sagar Paudel were also convicted.

However, Deputy Mayor Leela Kumari Moktan, former Accounts Officer Bishwaraj Pokharel, and then-Chairperson of the District Coordination Committee Methur Chaudhary were acquitted.

According to the charge sheet filed by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), the lake was illegally excavated in a forest area without approval from the Sagarnath Forest Development Project.

Furthermore, massive irregularities were found in the sale of extracted river-based materials such as stones, gravel, and sand.

Nearly 1.34 million cubic meters of these materials were sold without any official record, causing a financial loss of Rs 268 million to the municipality. When VAT is included, the total loss rises to Rs 302.9 million—a claim upheld by the court.

A separate hearing to determine the sentence for those found guilty in this case is scheduled for Shrawan 29.

Rs 34.5 Million in Illegally Acquired Wealth

In the second case, the court also found Thapa guilty of amassing illegal property. Of his total declared assets worth Rs 125.9 million, only Rs 91.4 million had verifiable sources.

The remaining Rs 34.5 million was deemed to be illegally acquired.

As punishment, the court sentenced Thapa to one year in prison, ordered the confiscation of the illegally acquired Rs 34.5 million, and imposed an equivalent fine.

Although the CIAA had originally claimed Thapa had amassed Rs 53.3 million in illegal wealth, the court only upheld a portion of that amount.