Special Court Orders Reclaiming Nearly 800 Ropanis of Encroached Government Land in Jhapa

The Special Court has convicted nine individuals, including Maoist leader Rewat Raj Puri, known as “Gagan,” in two corruption cases involving the illegal transfer of government land in Damak, Jhapa, into private ownership. The verdict paves the way for the government to reclaim nearly 800 ropanis of land.

The three-member bench led by Chair Tek Narayan Kunwar, with judges Murari Babu Shrestha and Ritendra Thapa, found Puri guilty under Section 8(1) (h) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 2002. He was sentenced to one year in prison and fined Rs 3.15 million in one case and Rs 2.08 million in another. Puri had previously been convicted in a money laundering case.

Those convicted include former survey office chief Shashikant Jha and six other land revenue and survey officials, along with two private landowners. They received prison terms ranging from three months to one year and fines based on their roles in the scheme. The court found that the officials had facilitated the registration of unused public land in private names through fraudulent means.

The land in question lies at the confluence of the Ratuwa and Dipini rivers, in an area locally known as “Baluwatar”. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had filed two separate cases on February 25, 2024: one for illegal self-occupation and registration of public land and another for wrongful recording of riverbank plots into private ownership.

The court acquitted all other accused apart from the nine convicted. Following the verdict, the government will initiate the process to reclaim the land to state ownership.