Fake-certificate charges filed against intelligence agency officer and Jumla teacher
The CIAA alleges that a chief investigation officer at the National Investigation Department won four promotions on a false school certificate, and that a teacher in Jumla secured a post with a forged teaching licence.
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) filed two separate charge sheets at the Special Court in Kathmandu this week alleging the use of fake certificates in public service. The first, filed on 4 November (18 Kartik 2083 BS), is against Hira Babu Bhattarai, a chief investigation officer at the National Investigation Department, Nepal’s state intelligence agency. The second, filed on 5 November (19 Kartik), is against Mahendra Raj Shahi, a teacher in Jumla.
Both cases are drawn from the CIAA’s own press releases. They are allegations; the court has made no finding.
The intelligence officer
The CIAA says it acted on a complaint that senior staff of the National Investigation Department had submitted fake educational certificates for recruitment and promotion. It alleges that Bhattarai submitted a certificate at the intermediate (prabinata pramanpatra) level from the Bihar Intermediate Education Council in Patna, India, to the department on 21 April 1998 (8 Baisakh 2055 BS), and that he then earned marks for educational qualification in four promotions on the strength of it:
- 1999 (10 Jestha 2056 BS) — assistant inspector
- 2007 (32 Asar 2064 BS) — senior investigation assistant
- 2015 (5 Magh 2071 BS) — investigation officer
- 2019 (13 Falgun 2075 BS) — chief investigation officer
According to the CIAA, verification from the issuing board showed that the candidate’s name and total marks did not match its records. The Commission is seeking punishment under section 12 and section 29(2) of the former Prevention of Corruption Act, 1960 (2017 BS) and section 16(1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2002 (2059 BS).
The Jumla teacher
The CIAA alleges that Shahi, a teacher at Shree Jyoti Secondary School in Tila Rural Municipality-9, Jumla, forged a permanent teaching licence to obtain a lower-secondary English teaching post funded through a teaching-learning grant that the municipality received in fiscal year 2021/22 (2078/79 BS). He was appointed as a contract teacher on 29 May 2022 (15 Jestha 2079 BS) and, the CIAA says, obtained the status, pay and benefits of a public servant. It seeks imprisonment and a fine under section 16(1) of the 2002 Act.
Context
Fake certificates are a recurring category in the CIAA’s caseload. According to the Commission’s press release on its 36th annual report, 1,384 complaints about fake educational certificates were on its books in fiscal year 2025/26 (2082/83 BS), and it filed 15 cases on the subject at the Special Court that year.
What happens next
The Special Court will take the defendants’ statements and proceed to hearings. Their responses have not been made public, and they will have the opportunity to defend themselves in court.
Sources
We found no other media reports on these two cases; this article is based on the CIAA’s official press releases.
Primary sources
- Press release: charge sheet filed (Hira Babu Bhattarai) — CIAA, 4 Nov 2026
- Press release: charge sheet filed (Mahendra Raj Shahi) — CIAA, 5 Nov 2026
- Press release on the 36th annual report (FY 2082/83) — CIAA, 17 Sep 2026
