KATHMANDU, April 29: Narayan Pandey, a computer operator of the Department of Transport Management has been arrested on charges of issuing illegal driving licenses. The Central Investigation Bureau of Police (CIB) arrested Pandey from Butwal on Sunday.

Similarly, Suraj Prakash Aryal, a computer engineer of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse and Authority (CIAA), was arrested by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) on Saturday night.

According to CIB sources, Engineer Aryal was arrested in the fake license issuance case. He was recently transferred from the IT section of Department of Transport Management (DoTM), to the CIAA for three months.

The CIB also took Harish Bhatta, a former employee of the DoTM, into custody on Saturday morning in connection with the illegal license issuance case.

The arrest comes after the CIB reviewed the investigation report submitted by the DoTM. CIB Spokesperson Hobindra Bogati said that Bhatta was arrested for preliminary investigations into the case. 

The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of the police has started an investigation into the fake license distribution case. In an investigation conducted by the DoTM along with representatives of the CIB, it was found that over 100,000 licenses were illegally distributed over the past 10 years. As many as 28,000 licenses issued by transport management offices only have numbers. It is presumed that these licenses could have been issued at any time.

The DoTM then wrote to the CIB for further investigation. The CIB started the investigation three months after the correspondence. Director General of the DoTM, Uddhav Rijal said that the CIB has started an investigation into the fake license distribution case. The DoTM first wrote to the CIB on January 28, urging for an investigation. Two more correspondences were made on February 6 and February 8 respectively. The DoTM made the fourth correspondence to the CIB on February 12, urging for an early investigation. The fourth correspondence was made after Director General Rijal was assaulted by a group of middlemen responsible for issuing illegal licenses.

An investigation committee was formed under the coordination of Mukesh Regmi, IT head of the department, after it was found that licenses were issued by manipulating the Electronic Driving License and Vehicle Registration System (EDLVRS) without complying with the legal provisions in the Motor Vehicles and Transport Management Act and Rules. 

The DoTM had begun an investigation after it was revealed that in the last 10 years, as many as 102,000 service seekers had obtained licenses from 35 transport offices across the country without taking the written tests and trials. 

It has been found that the licenses were distributed to the new driving license holders by keeping the license number of the person which was not renewed and the license number of the deceased person.

The DoTM has sent the investigation report to both the CIAA and the CIB. The report mentioned that the roles of 10 directors general at different times are questionable. Also, the report includes the names of the directors general and the employees in the IT section who were at the DoTM at the time when the licenses were issued illegally.

The report mentions that the directors general, who had headed the DoTM at various times, had encouraged the illegal distribution of licenses by not restricting their subordinates.

The committee investigated the license distribution process from 2072 BS to 2080 BS. According to the sources, it has been found that the licenses were distributed without written and trial examinations with the involvement of high-ranking employees of the DoTM for kickbacks.

The report states that two under secretaries and five computer engineers of the DoTM were directly involved in the illegal distribution of smart licenses. Shrichandra Shah and Pabitra Dangol were working as Information Technology Director in the Information Technology section of the DoTM when the driving licenses were distributed illegally.

Similarly, Rajkumar Maharjan, Keshavraj Gautam, Kapila Shrestha Thaiba, Santosh Pokharel and Suraj Prakash Aryal were working as computer engineers. Maharjan has been promoted to the position of an undersecretary.

Aryal has now been transferred to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. He is currently working under Maharjan at the ministry. Bhanu Bhakta Joshi has been working as a computer engineer at the IT section of the DoTM for a year. In the past, the committee called all the technical staff working in the information technology section for statements, but only computer engineers Pokharel, Aryal and Director Dangol gave their statements.

It has been found that over 120,000 counterfeit licenses were distributed, with 28,000 entries recorded during the tenures of former directors general Chandman Shrestha, Rup Narayan Bhattarai, Lavanya Dhakal, Kumar Prasad Ghimire, Gogan Bahadur Hamal, Nawaraj Ghimire, Suresh Raut, Tokraj Pandey, Tulsi Nath Gautam, and Narayan Bhattarai. Furthermore, it was even found that licenses were issued without undergoing trials, constituting a clear criminal offense. Director General Rijal said, "The department has also facilitated the investigation, and we urge for a fair inquiry into these matters."

Bhattarai is the first director general to issue such licenses while Gogan Bahadur Hamal and Namraj Ghimire are the second and third respectively. As many as 10,535 and 8,200 licenses were issued respectively during the tenure of them as director general.

Former director general Hamal worked as the director general of the DoTM from November 25, 2019 to March 4, 2021 and Ghimire from March 15, 2021 to July 3, 2022.

Similarly, during the tenure of former directors general Lawanya Kumar Dhakal and Kumar Prasad Dahal, as many as 7,394 and 3,549 suspicious and fake licenses were issued, respectively.

Dhakal worked at the DoTM from July 30, 2018 to March 5, 2019 while another former director general Dahal served from March 11, 2019 to August 11, 2019.

Similarly, during the tenures of former directors general Chanda Man Shrestha, Tulsinath Gautam, Tokraj Pandey, Narayan Prasad Bhattarai and Suresh Raut, as many as 1459, 1136, 1084, 697 and 350 dubious and fake licenses were issued, respectively.

Shrestha was appointed as director general on August 24, 2015. According to CIAA, Shrestha was found amassing property worth Rs 13.45 million illegally by misusing his post and authority while in public service.

 
• CIB
 
• illegal_driving_licenses
 
• DoTM