Investigative Reports

Reversal of Political Parties and The Election Commission: Dalit Women on the Brink of Losing Quotas

In the local election held a year ago, Dalit women did not give candidacy in 123 wards out of 6 thousand 700 wards. However, political parties and the Election Commission have not been able to attract Dalit women to the vacant seats.

Sabina Devkota | CIJ Nepal

Life after death

Funerary spaces for cremations and burials are shrinking rapidly for Nepal’s minorities

Alisha Sajapati | CIJ Nepal

Violence, Exploitation and Trafficking in the Name of Entertainment

Most women and girls who end up at dohori saajh and cottage restaurants essentially want to escape poverty and violence. However, they are further pushed into exploitation by the unsavoury motives of owners and managers, along with the ignorance of law enforcement. Many children are trafficked in this manner.

Pratima Silwal and Sindhu Dhakal | CIJ Nepal

Airports are being built in Nepal to meet selfish goals

Even if the existing airports are being closed for a lack of passengers, the race for opening the new ones continues unabated. Why is this phenomenon on the rise and who does it really benefit?

Basanta Pratap Singh and Bidhya Rai |CIJ Nepal

Dahal government to change law to distribute land to grabbers, party workers

Prime Minister Dahal, by crafting a narrative that singles out forests as the primary obstacles to development, seeks to facilitate land acquisition for opportunists and party members through amendments to the law.

Mukesh Pokhrel | CIJ Nepal

DPR scam:  Development Projects in Karnali Stuck in Limbo

Dozens of DPRs are prepared at the behest of politicians every year in the province but the provincial government has no record of how many of these projects have been implemented.

 Jyoti Katuwal | CIJ Nepal

Adding insult to injury: Nepali women, children grapple with statelessness 

Many Nepali women and their children are enduring the plight of statelessness due to discriminatory politics and government officials. Misogynistic laws, procedural gaps, and the apathy of relevant authorities contribute to the suppression of their civil right to live a dignified life.

Ajabi Poudel, |CIJ Nepal

Silent Suffering: Nepal’s Unheard Cry for Justice and Rehabilitation for Rape Survivors

Every day, four girls fall victim to rape in Nepal, yet the government has failed to assume responsibility for the well-being of these girls and their children, who are already abandoned by both family and society.

Durga Rana Magar |CIJ Nepal

Pesticides causing public health crisis 

Misuse of pesticides is becoming a major reason for deaths in Nepal. Research shows that the public health crisis caused by the government’s ignorance has already become too late to stop.

Sagar Budhathoki |CIJ Nepal

 Whose CIAA is it anyway?

The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) in Nepal, initially tasked with combating corruption and ensuring good governance, now navigates through the sway of diverse interest groups and political pressures, resembling a lost traveler.

Tara Chapagain |CIJ Nepal

Migrant worker import quota won via fake deals, then traded for millions

Ramu Sapkota & S Vinothaa 

Vulnerable and Unprotected: The Plight of Girls with Intellectual Disabilities in Nepal

Desperate Measures: Surgical Uterus Removal in Response to Escalating Sexual Violence

Durga Rana Magar |CIJ Nepal

Government’s ill-planned move puts future of 1.3 million children is at risk

Due to the government’s lack of readiness for the complete enforcement of the Compulsory and Free Education Act-2075, scheduled to take effect in April 2028, it is anticipated that approximately 1.3 million children may miss out on fundamental opportunities.              

Bhagirathi Pandit |CIJ Nepal

Millions spent on development of Badimalika, to no avail

In the Badimalika region of the Far West, despite an allocation of Rs. 380 million for tourism and infrastructure development, there exists a conspicuous absence of tangible progress on the ground. Regrettably, accountability for these irregularities remains conspicuously absent as well.

Basant Pratap Singh & Bidya Rai |CIJ Nepal

Politicians and land mafia join hands to encroach Pokhara lakes

Despite court orders to conserve the natural water bodies in the lake city, the government remains indifferent, turning a blind eye as political elites and individuals persistently seize public land to erect concrete structures.

Smita Adhikari |CIJ Nepal

Unauthorised translation and piracy of foreign books thrive in Nepal

The phenomenon has not just hurt creativity but also caused losses to authorised translators and publishers. There is law but implementation remains lax. Unauthorised translation and piracy of foreign books thrive in Nepal

Upendra Raj Pandey |CIJ Nepal

The biometric heist: fingerprint fraudsters targeting properties

The availability of fake rubber fingerprints in the Indian market along the Nepal border has led to many cases of fraud in the Terai districts. Even if there are piles of lawsuits in the courts, officials lack the means and the drive to look into and stop such crimes.

Sagar Chand and Man Bahadur Basnet |CIJ Nepal

Desperate youths from ‘base areas’ of Maoist insurgency chase the American dream

Villages that were the epicentre of the Maoist insurgency waged against ‘American imperialism’, among other things, have fallen into the trap of organised human trafficking networks.

Janak Raj Sapkota |CIJ Nepal

Lawmakers in Sudurpaschim province took millions in Illegal perks

Parliamentarians of the Sudurpaschim Province, who received benefits not authorised by law, collected 13 million rupees in the last five years. During the presidential election, they took 1.6 million rupees for travel expenses to and from Kathmandu, a violation of the rules.

Bhanubhakta Acharya 

Revealed: the intermediaries and companies behind Nepal Airlines US$ 216m Airbus purchase

A new investigation by CIJ Nepal and Finance Uncovered can today reveal the key individuals and opaque offshore structures behind one of the biggest and, arguably, most controversial business deals ever conducted in Nepal. 

Deepak Adhikari And Rudra Pangeni |CIJ, Nepal