KATHMANDU: Suspended Mayor of Bagmati Municipality, Bharat Kumar Thapa, has been convicted of corruption by the Special Court. The court found that Thapa illegally amassed assets worth Rs 34.5 million.

A joint bench of Judges Tek Narayan Kunwar, Murari Babu Shrestha, and Bidur Koirala sentenced Thapa to one year in prison and imposed a fine equivalent to the amount of illegal assets.

Chief Administrative Officer Bimal Kumar Pokharel and Engineer Sagar Paudel were also convicted under the Corruption Prevention Act, 2002.

Deputy Mayor Leela Kumari Moktan, Accounts Officer Bishwaraj Pokharel, and former DCC Chief Methur Chaudhary were acquitted due to lack of evidence.

The court found discrepancies in Thapa’s income and expenditure, with expenditures exceeding income by Rs 34.5 million.

Additionally, Thapa was found guilty in a separate corruption case involving Rs 302.9 million in losses related to illegal sand and gravel extraction during the construction of a fish pond (Bharat Taal).

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had filed a charge sheet against Thapa and five others on June 11, 2024, accusing them of unauthorized excavation and misuse of public funds without federal approval.

The court will schedule a separate hearing for sentencing in this case.