KATHMANDU, July 17: An audio recording has surfaced allegedly implicating Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation (MoLCPA), Balram Adhikari, in accepting a bribe of Rs 3.2 million. The audio, reportedly related to a land registration deal, claims that Minister Adhikari received the bribe in exchange for facilitating the registration of land in an individual's name.
The recording mentions several individuals involved in the deal concerning a plot of land in Pokhara, including the then Minister of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MoFAGA), Rajkumar Gupta; the then Secretary of the same ministry, Arjun Pokharel; and Minister Adhikari’s son, Manoj Adhikari.
According to the audio, Minister Adhikari received Rs 3.2 million through his son. It also alleges that the then Minister Gupta took Rs 3.5 million and former Secretary Pokharel accepted Rs 500,000. The recording further claims that a total of Rs 15 million had already been spent on the land-related dealings.
In an earlier audio recording—which led to the resignation of Gupta as MoFAGA—Minister Adhikari's name was mentioned by both Gupta and a middleman. Minister Adhikari had denied the allegations during a session of the House of Representatives.
Following the release of the latest audio, which allegedly reveals a group conspiring to transfer ownership of 135 ropanis of land in Pokhara into private hands, former Minister Gupta resigned from his position on Tuesday.