KATHMANDU, Dec 22: Two student wing leaders of Netra Bikram Chand-led CPN Maoist party assaulted and tarred suspended chief commissioner of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) Lokman Singh Karki at the Supreme Court premises on Thursday afternoon.
Prakash Shahi of Rukumkot and Chandra Bahadur Budha of Aathbiskot in Rukum district smeared black on Karki's face when he appeared as summoned by the apex court.
Karki was punched in the back and smeared black by the assailants who shouted slogans such as "Long Live CPN Maoist" and "End Corruption".
Police took both the assailants into custody. They were later identified as central committee leaders of All Nepal Free Student Union (Revolutionary), which is affiliated to the CPN Maoist.
Those who smeared my face black are innocent cadres, free them:...
"We have taken the two assailants into custody and are investigating the incident," said SSP Sharad Chand, spokesperson at the Metropolitan Police Commissioner's Office.
Karki threatens to unmask 'corrupt faces'
Half an hour after the incident, the suspended CIAA chief released a written appeal and warned political leaders and others speaking against him that he would uncover their corrupt faces.
"I have full faith and trust in the Almighty that I will get justice and will be able to fend off all these baseless, vindictive accusations. I want to reiterate that I will work against corruption and malpractices to the best of my ability. Even if I don't get justice and remain in this post, my fight against corruption will never die," stated Karki in his appeal.
"I will reveal the involvement of various political leaders in corruption at the right time when the public commands me to do so. At that moment, the corrupt will be unmasked and their dishonesty and deceit uncovered," he added.
Karki argued that he is being framed and that allegations against him are biased, baseless and misleading. "These have clearly been designed and influenced by a group of people after we started investigations against some of them and were on the way towards exposing a few more, including those receiving huge funds from I/NGOs and using it for their own benefit, those amassing huge amounts of money which could not be sourced, those accumulating huge properties abroad, trade unions, protectors of cartels and syndicates, those taking huge amounts of money from individuals wanting to become members of parliament and the constituent assembly, some media houses evading taxes and practicing yellow journalism, and of course top level bureaucrats and politicians who were in fear of being exposed," the appeal further reads.
Mentioning the names of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Minister for Energy Janardan Sharma, Karki has stated that the impeachment motion registered in Parliament was part of a conspiracy against him.
