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Nepal MP bought degree from Bihar, used it for higher studies in China; arrested
Nepali lawmaker arrested for forging educational certificates; had been demanding the resignation of home and finance ministers over gold smuggling case.
A Nepali lawmaker was arrested on Thursday on charges of forging educational certificates. Nepali Congress MP Sunil Kumar Sharma allegedly bought a higher secondary academic degree from Bihar and used it to pursue higher studies in China.
A team of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police arrested Sunil Sharma, a member of the House of Representatives from Nepal’s ruling party, from Kathmandu, reported PTI quoting police spokesperson Kuber Kadayat.
Sharma, elected to the House of Representatives from Morang-3, is considered close to the Shekhar Koirala camp in the Nepali Congress and his arrest has created ripples in the ruling coalition.
The arrest of Sharma, who owns a few medical colleges and private colleges, comes days after he demanded the resignation of home minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha and finance minister Prakash Sharan Mahat over the alleged smuggling of 100 kg of gold, which was seized in a raid last month.
Eighteen people, including an Indian and a Chinese national, were arrested in relation to the smuggling of nearly 100 kg of gold that passed out of Tribhuvan International Airport's customs without being detected on the night of July 18.
Laying out a series of examples of immediate resignation from posts surrounding the controversy and scandals from Nepal and the world context, Sharma suggested that both ministers resign.
“Current finance minister and the home minister in this investigation should have been able to confirm that we’ve caught the main culprit behind the smuggle or give a deadline to find them. Otherwise, in order to further facilitate the investigation should step down from their post until and unless the main person behind the smuggling is caught,” Sharma said.
Mahat rejected the demand saying Sharma was angry with the government for turning down the insurance cover request to patients getting treatment in his private hospital, reported Indian Express.
(With inputs from agencies)
