The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police has interrogated former chief secretary Leela Mani Paudyal in connection with the Lalita Niwas land grab case.

Superintendent of Police Nabaraj Adhikari, who is also the spokesperson of the CIB, said that the Bureau summoned former chief secretary Paudyal to its office at Maharajgunj on Sunday and recorded his statements.

“Yes, we called him to ask some questions related to the case,” Adhikari told the Post. “We asked him specially about the knowledge he had about the matter when he was in the position.”

Adhikari said matters such as whether or not to summon Paudyal in the future will be determined by the demands of the investigation process.

The CIB has been investigating the Lalita Niwas scam, in which a group of officials and middlemen in collusion with top officials had transferred the ownership of the public land to individuals’ names.

The Lalilta Niwas area covers around 300 ropanis [around 15 hectares] of land adjoining the prime minister's residence, Nepal Rastra Bank’s central office and some VIP residences.

The investigating team has interrogated Paudyal a week after the Supreme Court cleared ways to probe even those involved in Cabinet decisions that facilitated the transfer of the plots of Lalita Niwas land to individuals’ names.

The apex court verdict issued on August 7 opened the door for the police to start investigation against former prime ministers Madhav Kumar Nepal and Baburam Bhattarai.

Police included Paudyal in the investigation as he was chief secretary of the government led by Bhattarai. A chief secretary remains present at Cabinet meetings and prepares minutes of the decisions taken by the Council of Ministers.

Cabinet meetings led by Nepal and Bhattarai had taken separate decisions related to the Lalita Niwas land.

The CIB has also been investigating several ministers, government secretaries and other officials and middlemen involved in the scam.

The Post’s attempts to reach out to Paudyal for a comment didn’t succeed.

A month ago, Paudyal had taken to social media to make public his comment on the issue. He had denied his role in taking any decision or issuing a direction or order about the issue.

“I have done nothing except fulfill my legal duty of forwarding the Cabinet’s decision to the ministry that tables the proposal,” he had said. “There is a huge difference between taking a decision and just corresponding a decision of higher authority.”