Bikram Pandey Denies Involvement in PPMO e-Bidding Manipulation Case
बैशाख २८, २०८३ १६:५३
Kathmandu. Former minister and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) vice-president Bikram Pandey has denied all allegations against him in a case related to the alleged hacking and manipulation of Nepal’s electronic bidding system under the Public Procurement Monitoring Office (PPMO), claiming that neither he nor his company was involved in any wrongdoing.
Pandey, who was arrested by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) from Kathmandu on April 24, said in his statement to investigators that he is innocent. The charge sheet filed by the Office of the Government Attorney at the Kathmandu District Court on May 8 includes his denial of all allegations. “I think some criminal group has done this to defame my company and me. Let there be an investigation into this matter,” he stated.
According to the police investigation, defendant Diwakar Deuja allegedly gained unauthorized access to the system using a username ‘kalikac’of Kalika Construction Pvt. Ltd., owned by Pandey. Authorities claim that after the bidding deadline for the Bakaiya River bridge project under the Mahendra Highway (August 5, 2025) passed, financial documents were altered on January 23, 2026, reducing the bid amount from Rs 675.1 million to Rs 605.495 million. Investigators allege the manipulation was carried out through a VPS server provided by IMS Software Pvt. Ltd. to PPMO.
Pandey admitted that his company had submitted a bid of Rs 675,103,089 but said he was unaware of any later alteration to Rs 605,495,089. He questioned how the system could have been accessed after the deadline, stating that the PPMO platform should automatically lock once submissions close.
He also acknowledged that the username “kalikac,” the email address infokalikagroup.com, and the organization name were associated with his company. However, he claimed the contact number registered in the system was neither his nor his company’s. He further denied receiving any messages from email or WhatsApp accounts linked to the case.
Pandey said his company has participated in contracts worth over Rs 100 billion since April 2023, but has not secured any project so far. He maintained that no collusion took place with PPMO officials or other accused individuals and said the bidding process was handled by an employee, Surendra Pandey, under his supervision.
Pandey mentioned that he has no acquaintance or transactions with the absconding and arrested defendants, Keshav Aryal, and members of IMS Software. The Office of the Government Attorney has filed charges against 22 individuals, including Pandey, under the Electronic Transactions Act, 2063, and the Muluki Criminal Code, 2074. The case also seeks the confiscation of cryptocurrency worth 20,000 USDT from a Bitcoin wallet.
The preliminary hearing of the case has been scheduled for May 11 before Judge Chunaram Khadka.
पछिल्लो अध्यावधिक: बैशाख २८, २०८३ १६:५३
