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 Kathmandu, Aug 4: The recent release of an audio recording related to bribery in bureaucratic transfers and postings has rocked Nepal’s administrative and political spheres. Following the controversy, Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration Rajkumar Gupta resigned, and former minister Ranjita Shrestha also stepped down from her position as chair of the Nagarik Unmukti Party after being implicated in the same audio.

However, no action has been taken against Land Management, Cooperatives, and Poverty Alleviation Minister Balram Adhikari, who is also entangled in the case. Investigations by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) have focused mainly on former ministers, land revenue officials, and people involved in the Pokhara-based Lichibari land deal. Yet, despite mounting evidence, CIAA has not questioned or recorded statements from sitting minister Adhikari.

It was previously revealed that at least three pieces of evidence implicating Minister Adhikari had been submitted to the CIAA. A separate leaked audio from Pokhara suggested that Adhikari hesitated to appoint Khem Bahadur Pun as Land Commission chair because someone else had taken the money. The recording also mentioned that Adhikari’s son Manoj received Rs 2.5 million in a zebra-striped bag.

In another audio recording, Dipak Subedi, a junior clerk (Nasu) at the Kaski Land Revenue Office, is heard saying: “I am the one who brought Chiranjeevi by spending Rs 7 million,” using vulgar language. When another person in the recording reacts in surprise — “Rs 7 million?” — Subedi repeats it, again using offensive words.

The “Chiranjeevi” he referred to is Chiranjeevi Paudel, the current Chief Land Revenue Officer at the Kaski office. The person who recorded the conversation reportedly tried multiple times to block Paudel’s posting in Kaski, connecting two incumbent and one former minister to the scheme.

According to sources at the Kaski Land Revenue Office, the recording was made during an office picnic a few months ago. In apparent retaliation, Paudel recently refused to renew the contract of a junior staffer believed to be behind the audio leak.

Although Subedi claims he spent Rs 7 million to install Paudel as land revenue chief, it remains unclear who actually financed the bribe and how the money was used. The claim, however, signals a high-stakes political and financial maneuvering within the Kaski Land Revenue Office. A source in the Land Management Ministry noted, “Subedi himself didn’t have the means to spend Rs 7 million. It’s clear he was managed by some vested group.”

The importance of the Kaski Land Revenue Office has grown in recent years due to disputes over high-value land, particularly a 135-ropani plot in Lichibari. Around 60 ropanis of this land are under ownership dispute.

The Shah family claims that land registered under the name of Durgadevi Shah during the Rana era was wrongfully transferred to the family of Rajendra Rana, then head of the survey office, who later passed it on to a Thakali family from Mustang. Despite a 1983 ruling by the Western Regional Court in favor of Durgadevi, the decision was never enforced.

Nearly 40 years later, in 2023, Durgadevi’s grandchildren reportedly discovered court documents in a box affirming their ownership. After favorable rulings from the Kaski District Court and Pokhara High Court, they began claiming their land rights. Currently, Suraj Shah Thakuri is leading the claim on behalf of the Shah family.

Sources say the Shah family collaborated with the individual who recorded the audio, using him to push for implementation of the court’s decision and retrieve their land. It appears he also worked closely with then-chief land officer Ramchandra Adhikari and sought the facilitation of Minister Ranjita Shrestha.