KATHMANDU, April 27: The Central Investigation Bureau of Police (CIB) has arrested Harish Bhatta, a former Department of Transport Management (DoTM) employee, in connection with an 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.

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 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.

The investigation was conducted under the coordination of Mukesh Regmi, the IT head of the DoTM after it was found that licenses were issued by tampering with the 'Electronic Driving License System' without fulfilling the legal provisions in the Motor Vehicles and Transport Management Act.

Bhatta, who was employed on contract in the license printing section of the DoTM for 12 years, was flagged by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) in 2071 BS for his role in the illegal license distribution.

Uddhav Rijal, Director General of the DoTM, did not extend the term of the contract after his involvement in the illegal license scandal was revealed. As a result, Bhatta has not been permitted to appear in the DoTM since February.

 
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