Kathmandu

Nepal Police have arrested eight contractors for their alleged involvement in the hacking of the electronic bidding system (e-bidding) of the Public Procurement Monitoring Office.

They were arrested by the Cyber Bureau of Nepal Police on Friday. The arrested have been identified as Kiran Malla, chairman of High Himalaya Hydro Construction, Bhakta Bahadur Lama, Bishnu Man Lama, Ganga Bahadur Silwal, Dhruba Khanal, Narayan Prasad Sitakhu, Swadesh Pokharel and Ritu Bahadur Karki.TAG_OPEN_p_13

According to a police source, they were arrested in course of the investigation into the activities of influencing the tender process by having unauthorized access to the e-bidding system.TAG_OPEN_p_12

TAG_OPEN_p_11 Earlier, Bikram Pandey, who was associated with Kalika Construction, was arrested in the same case. He has been released on bail after the court’s order. Rishikesh Gauli, the managing director of Ashish Construction Services, was also arrested earlier and released on bail.

The police said that they have started the second phase of investigation in the e-bidding hack case. The businessmen were arrested after the involvement of more people was found during the investigation, police said.

The arrested businessmen will be produced before the Kathmandu District Court on Monday for an extension of their custody.TAG_OPEN_p_9

The e-bidding system hack case is seen as a serious cybercrime linked to the public procurement process and competitive contracting arrangements. The incident has also raised questions about the security and transparency of the government procurement system.

Police said further investigation into the case is underway.TAG_OPEN_p_7