Court sends FNCCI chief Pandey to jail
District Court on Wednesday jailed Pradeep Jung Pandey, president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI).
As Pandey was admitted at Sahid Gangalal National Heart Center, the detention letter was handed over to the Nepal Police’s Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), according to the court. The CIB then forwarded the letter to Dilli Bazaar Jail.
CIB chief DIG Hemanta Malla Thakuri said Pandey received the letter at around 7.30 PM on Wednesday.
CIB had arrested Pandey from his residence in Maharajgunj, Kathmandu , on Tuesday evening in connection with a 30-year-old corruption case. Pandey was first taken to the CIB Headquarters in Maharjgung, Kathmandu . After Pandey complained of chest pain, he was taken to Bir Hospital, which later referred Pandey be shifted to Gangalal Hospital.
“The Gangalal Hospital wrote to us saying Pandey could not be discharged as he was having chest pain, diabetes and trouble in urination and he needed contentious monitoring and observation,” said Dev Prasad Yogi, judgment execution officer at the court. “We then have handed over the detention letter to the CIB.”
Yogi said the Dilli Bazaar Jail will look after the treatment of Pandey once CIB hands over the detention letter. As soon as Pandey is discharged, he will be taken to the Dilli Bazaar jail.
In June 1982, the Patan Appellate Court had convicted Pandey of corruption charge when he was serving as an accountant at state-owned Water Supply Cooperation and slapped him with three-year jail term and a fine of Rs 5,000.
The issue that Pandey had criminal charges against him and has not completed the jail term surfaced during the FNCCI election last year. Subsequently a case was filed in the district court.
As the court seemed positive on the complaint, Pandey moved the Supreme Court (SC). He was able to avoid a possible sentence in September 2014 when the apex court, responding to his petition, asked the defendants, including KDC, not to arrest him.
At the time, the court had maintained that since it was not immediately clear whether the jail sentence was waived, no arrest should take place until the final hearing of the petition. However, the district court stated there were no records of such a waiver.
A division bench of justices Kalyan Shrestha and Om Prakash Mishra on Tuesday finally turned down Pandey’s request for a pardon although he claimed the case was resolved through “royal pardon”.
A CIB statement stated Pandey has one year, nine months and 27 days to be completed in his three-year jail term. He also needs to pay the government a loss of property worth Rs 743,505.
Since the supreme court turned down the interim writ which prevented him from moving to the jail, the case will continue in the apex court. “The supreme court case will remain as it is. The verdict is yet to come, and the supreme court will decide Pandey’s fate,” Yogi said.
Meanwhile, a meeting of the FNCCI executive committee members on Tuesday, chaired by Senior Vice-president Pashupati Murarka in the capacity of officiating chairman decided to call an executive committee and standing committee meeting for taking further decisions.
“The meeting was chaired by Murarka as our statute states the senior vice-president is to hold a meeting if there is unavailability of the chairman. The meeting has made informal decision of calling executive committee and standing committee meeting by setting up the agendas,” said Hemanta Kumar Dawadi, director general of the FNCCI.
As per the FNCCI statute, the officiating chairman will have to hold an election for the post of chairman within six months from the date of assuming the office. The FNCCI has not come up with a concrete view regarding the Pandey’s issue.
Source:e-kantipur
