Kathmandu, July 11 -- The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) on Friday filed a corruption case against six individuals, including Sunil Paudel, the then executive director of the National Information Technology Centre, over alleged irregularities in the procurement of "high-compute infrastructure" equipment.

According to the CIAA, the accused allegedly embezzled around Rs160 million during the fiscal year 2019-20 procurement process. The case was filed at the Special Court, with the CIAA seeking a recovery of Rs158.85 million and corresponding imprisonment and fines.

The defendants include former centre officials-director Saphal Shrestha, assistant director Ramesh Pokharel, computer engineer Ramsharan Gayak, a...