Kathmandu, June 7
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority has drawn the attention of Minister for Information and Communications Sher Dhan Rai and Secretary Dinesh Thapaliya towards the appointment of Dipak Pathak as member of the Press Council Nepal and payment of around Rs 9.5 lakh to him for running public service advertisements in his magazine named Margadarshan.
In its communication, the constitutional anti-corruption agency said the payment made to Pathak for running public service advertisements in Margadarshan is against the law of the land. The agency has urged the government to collect the sum from Pathak.
The sum of Rs 9, 53, 500, paid to Margadarshan for running PSAs, is against the law and approved criteria. For a period of three years, the magazine was not under the category that would make it eligible to run PSAs.
In the letter, CIAA Under-secretary Sadananda Gurung also said Pathak’s appointment is not consistent with the CIAA’s decision.
