KATHMANDU: Senior RPP leader and former minister Bikram Pandey has been arrested today.

A team from the Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police arrested Pandey today, said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Shiva Kumar Shrestha.

He said that he was arrested on the charge of manipulating the details of various contracts by providing unauthorized access to the system of the Public Procurement Monitoring Office.

Along with Pandey, Tanka Kumar Shrestha, the proprietor of Bhishan Construction, was also arrested in the same case, according to the CIB. A case was registered against them under the Electronic Transactions Act, 2063 at the Cyber Bureau of Bhotahiti on the basis of a complaint filed against them for altering the documents of the financial proposal of the contract before opening the financial proposal of the Public Procurement Monitoring Office.

Spokesperson Shrestha said that a police team deputed from the bureau was arrested in the same case and further investigation is underway under the Prevention of Organized Crime Act, 2070. He said that a total of 9 suspects have been arrested in the case so far and investigation is underway.