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Kathmandu, Oct 14: Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal has said that the file related to the land deal of Giribandhu Tea Estate in Jhapa will be reopened if complaints are filed by victims.
Speaking to reporters while leaving his ministry on Monday evening, Aryal said there is no obstacle within the current state mechanism to investigate such cases. He explained that complaints must first be lodged with the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) or the administration.
“A complaint has to come first. It can be filed with the CIAA or with the police administration,” Aryal said. “If someone has been cheated, they can go to the police. Or, if they submit it to us in writing, that also works,” he added.
Aryal made it clear that ministers do not personally file complaints. “If a citizen has paid an advance to buy land and later becomes a victim, the advance might have been collected or even used as a bribe, or spent to influence decisions. Those who have witnessed or suffered it should bring the matter before the state mechanism,” he said.
He assured that if a complaint is received, the state agencies will carry out an investigation without obstruction.
The Giribandhu Tea Estate case involves land exchanges exceeding the legal ownership ceiling for tea plantations. The decision to allow such land swaps had been made after amending the land-related law. If the case files are reopened, former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli could also be implicated. Middlemen had reportedly collected advances from buyers to sell land located in Birtamod and Arjundhara municipalities.
During his time as a legal practitioner, Aryal had played a leading role in challenging the case. Based on the petition he had filed, the Supreme Court had annulled the Oli government’s decision.
People’s News Monitoring Service