Five people have been arrested in the investigation into the embezzlement of funds from the Basic Health Service Hospital under Shivraj Municipality in Kapilvastu, and the Kapilvastu District Court has granted seven days for further investigation. As the initial basis for the investigation, police have cited the discrepancy between 129 vouchers shown as deposited in the bank and the approximately Rs 3,891,770 that was not reflected in the bank account [1].
According to the Kapilvastu District Police Office, those arrested include 55-year-old Chudamani Bhandari, chief of the health section of Shivraj Municipality; 30-year-old Dr. Amit Pandey, the hospital’s medical superintendent; 34-year-old Kamal Prasad Bhandari, cashier at Nepal Bank Limited’s Chandrauta branch; 37-year-old Raksana Khatun, pharmacy assistant at the hospital; and 35-year-old Vikram KC, a bank employee [1]. Police said the investigation has been advanced against them on charges of fraud and criminal breach of trust [1].
The initial complaint in the case was filed on April 4 by Netr Prasad Belbase, ward chair of Shivraj Municipality Ward No. 5 and chair of the hospital operation and management committee [1]. Police investigations afterward found irregularities in the financial transactions of the Basic Health Service Hospital, Chandrauta, and alleged that funds collected from service fees and the sale of medicines from the pharmacy were not deposited in the bank [1]. However, the conclusion that “fake vouchers were prepared and funds were embezzled in an organized manner” is only an initial police finding at the investigation stage; it is not a court-established fact [1].
Based on the investigation, police said that in fiscal year 2081/82, although the hospital’s income was shown as deposited in the bank on the basis of 129 vouchers, the money was not actually deposited into the bank account [1]. During the audit, when it was found that around Rs 3,891,770 had not been deposited in the bank, the investigation was taken forward, according to police [1]. Police are now conducting further investigation into how this amount was distributed, what role each person played, and at which bank procedures the error occurred [1].
So far, the main official details made public in this case have been limited to the police statement/briefing [1]. No formal written response from Shivraj Municipality, no decision from a hospital management committee meeting, and no separate public statement from Nepal Bank Limited appear in the investigative materials available. Therefore, rather than drawing firm conclusions about coordination between bank and hospital staff, it is more appropriate at this stage to limit the report to the police’s initial investigation and the court’s remand order [1].
The next verification step is the further investigation by the Kapilvastu District Police Office, for which the court has granted seven days [1]. During that period, police will match bank vouchers, account details, the hospital’s internal records, and statements from the persons concerned to clarify the basis of the allegations [1].