The Special Court on Thursday acquitted eight individuals, including Surendra Kumar Paudel, the former general manager of Udayapur Cement Industry, on corruption charges.

On January 24, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) filed a graft case against them, accusing them of causing the industry a loss of Rs 2.27 million.

A bench comprising Special Court Chairman Tek Narayan Kunwar and members Tej Narayan Singh Rai and Ram Bahadur Thapa cleared them of all charges.

In a letter to Paudel, Special Court officer Narayan Prakash Shrestha mentioned that he had been cleared of the charge. Shrestha said the court has yet to make public the full text of the verdict.

Former deputy general manager Pawan Kumar Lal Karna, manager Bharat Prasad Nepal, officer Demlal Khanal, manager Kamal Raj Paudel, and deputy directors Dhrub Bahadur Devkota and Mahesh Prasad Kafle were also acquitted in the case.