Nepal

Kathmandu, November 11

Kathmandu District Court today issued an arrest warrant against Padma Jyoti, chair man of Jyoti Group, in a case related to housing fraud.

A single bench of Justice Shree Krishna Bhattarai of KDC has permitted Metropolitan Police Range, Teku, to arrest Jyoti for further investigation, confirmed KDC Registrar Ananda Prasad Shrestha.

The arrest warrant follows the arrest of Padma Jyotiyounger brother and Vice-chairman of Jyoti Group Roop Jyoti in the same case. On Thursday, police had arrested Roop, who is also the former state minister of finance and renowned industrialist, and his daughter Suruchi Jyoti from Tribhuvan International Airport on their return from Singapore.

Earlier, a case was filed by Bijendra Krishna Malla against Jyoti Group. Malla had complained that he paid Rs 27.6 million in instalments since September 2014 for a house at Bansbari, Budanilkantha, to Landmark Developers, in which the Jyoti Group has a stake, but he still has to get possession of the house.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry has expressed its deep concern about Jyotis& arrest. &The arrest of members of Jyoti Group has created havoc in the entire private sector. Such activities will certainly affect the business environment and discourage investment in the long run,& said Shekhar Golchha, senior vice-president of FNCCI.

Stating that the government could have launched an investigation into the case without taking the Jyotis into custody, Golchha said frequent arrest of industrialists in this manner would have a lasting adverse impact on the business environment and overall economy of the country.

The post Arrest warrant issued against Padma Jyoti appeared first on The Himalayan Times.

Kathmandu, November 11

The government has given a 15-day ultimatum to medical colleges to return the extra fees taken from students.

It has warned that a fraud case will be filed against such medical colleges if they fail to return the money taken from students within the stipulated time.

Speaking at a press meet today, Minister of Education, Science and Technology Giriraj Mani Pokharel said, &We have given a 15-day ultimatum to medical colleges to return the extra fees taken from students. We have also sent a letter to the Ministry of Home Affairs informing about the case.& He added, &If medical colleges fail to return the extra money taken from students, the Ministry of Home Affairs will start the necessary procedure for punishing such medical colleges.&

Minister Pokharel also said that the medical colleges should abide by the Medical Education Act and the Cabinetdecision. He also requested parents and students to help the government by not agreeing with the medical colleges& unequal demands regarding fees.

Medical students have been protesting against exorbitant fees charged in violation of the governmentrule.

Students of Chitwan Medical College had ended their protest with the signing of an agreement with the college authorities on September 21, at District Administration Office, Chitwan. The government had given a monthultimatum to return the extra charges on September 23.

A meeting was held at Chitwan District Administration Office between college students and college administrators. The agreement stated that either the college would return the extra fees taken from students or adjust the fees by November 4.

Students from Chitwan Medical College, Universal Medical College, Bhairahawa; and National Medical College, Birgunj, had jointly staged protest in the capital in November as medical colleges refused to return the extra fees despite the governmentwarning.

The government had put a cap on the amount colleges could take from students.

A Cabinet meeting, last year, had capped the fees for MBBS course at Rs 3.85 million in Kathmandu valley and Rs 4.24 million outside the valley. However, colleges were found to be charging extra money under different headings.

The government increased the fees for MBBS and BDS programmes for this fiscal. As per the revised fee structure, a Nepali student pursuing MBBS inside Kathmandu valley will have to pay Rs 4.02 million for a five-and-a-half-year course and students pursuing MBBS outside Kathmandu valley will have to pay Rs 4.44 million.

The post Government gives 15-day ultimatum to medical colleges appeared first on The Himalayan Times.

Kathmandu, November 11

The Narcotics Control Bureau with the support of Airport Customs Office arrested a Brazilian national with 2.1 kilograms cocaine from Tribhuvan International Airport today.

Sergio Truh, 61, (passport number XY 75937) of Brazil, an alleged suspect associated with a transnational drug racket, was taken into custody from Tribhuvan International Airport today.

The consignment of cocaine is said to be worth around Rs 100 million in the international drug market. Police said Truh, who arrived in Nepal on a Qatar Airways flight, intended to smuggle the drug to India. SSP Basanta Lama of NCB said undercover narcotics police tracked the drug carrier, who was carrying the drug in his backpack, from TIA. Police are further investigating the case.

The Brazilian citizen will be charged under the Narcotic Drugs (Control) Act1976. If convicted, he can be liable to life imprisonment.

Cocaine is often known as ‘rich persondrug& and Nepal is not often considered its market due to its high price. It is a strong stimulant mostly used as a recreational drug.

The post Brazilian national arrested with cocaine from Tribhuvan Airport appeared first on The Himalayan Times.

KATHMANDU: The secretariat meeting of Nepal Communist Party (NCP), today, has completed the task of forming the partycentral organisational departments.

The secretariat completed the task by choosing the chairperson and secretary of three different commissions including the advisors& committee head and the senior communist forum.

The meeting held at the Prime Ministerresidence in Baluwatar assigned Amrit Kumar Bohara as the chair and Ashok Rokaya as the secretary of the Central Discipline Commission, and Pushpa Kadel as the chair and Teknath Acharya as the secretary of the Central Audit Commission.

Party spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha also informed that Vishnu Pukar Shrestha has been selected as the chairman, Madhav Poudel as the secretary of the Central Election Commission, Keshav Badal as the chairman and Nanda Kumar Thapa as the secretary of the Central Advisor Committee, Nanda Kumar Prasai as the chairman and Govinda Gyawali as the secretary of the Senior Communist Forum.

With the formation of all the necessary departments, the party unification process between Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marixist-Leninist) and Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) has been completed after they unified together last year, declared Spokesperson Shrestha.

The post NCP (NCP) central organisation departments formed appeared first on The Himalayan Times.