CIAA to act on Rayamajhi report if govt wants

The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) today said it would implement the Rayamajhi Commission report and take action against people found guilty of suppressing the Jana Andolan II if the government wishes so.“We will prosecute those implicated in the Rayamajhi report if the government asks us,” Acting Chief Commissioner Indra Kumar Shrestha said.According to him, the CIAA will prosecute those guilty of misusing the state treasury and corruption as stated in the report.Shrestha was addressing a press conference organised by the constitutional corruption watchdog to make public its programmes to mark the 17th CIAA Day on February 9 and 10.Shrestha, however, said the Commission is yet to get a copy of the Rayamajhi commission report.“We cannot take action against anyone merely on the basis of the news published in newspapers,” Shrestha said.“If the government formally sends the report to us, we will do the needful,” he added.Asked about his view on the recent verdicts issued by the Special Court giving clean chits to former ministers Khum Bahadur Khadka and Govinda Raj Joshi, Shrestha said that they were corrupt and that the verdicts would not change his perception.“We had prosecuted them on corruption charges because they amassed property thorough illegal means and I still do not believe that they are clean persons,” Shrestha said.Shrestha , however, said he did not know how they got clean chits from the Special Court.“May be the judges there have different views and perceptions,” he added.He said that the anti-corruption watchdog will decide on whether or not to appeal against the special court verdict in the Supreme Court because the commission is yet to receive the full text of the Special Court judgement on the cases.Another Commissioner Lalit Bahadur Limbu said that the commission has not become sluggish, but has become more active after the government gave it a copy of the Judicial Investigation Probe Commission report. “Now we are concentrating on petty corruptions,” Limbu said.Asked about the non-implementation of CIAA suggestions, another Commissioner Beda Prasad Siwakoti said there are several hurdles hindering their implementation.