KATHMANDU, Sept 1: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) on Sunday arrested 10 officials of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), including Director Arjun Kumar Chauhan, over irregularities in the procurement of low-quality transformers. 

The anti-graft body said they were arrested as evidences collected so far suggest their involvement in the procurement of low-quality transformers. The substandard transformers have caused excessive power leakage and explosions. This is the third time the NEA officials arrested in the same case. 

According to a statement issued by CIAA, those arrested include director Chauhan, ex-co-director Sashibikram Thapa, deputy director Mahesh Kumar Karki, ex-general manager Yugal Kishor Shah, manager Hari Bahadur Gasi, assistant manager Nimesh Kumar Pokhrel, electrical engineer Binod Kumar Swarnakar, deputy manager Manoj Baral, assistant electrical engineer Rambabu Mandal and engineer Suraj Prasad Shah. 

All the arrested have been detained for further investigation, the CIAA said on Sunday. Earlier on Aug 20, the anti-graft body had arrested 10 officials of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), including Managing Director Rameshwar Yadav in  the same case. Including Yadav, Planning Chief Krishna Bahadur Thapa, engineer Pramod Rijal, former general manager Chiranjeevi Sharma Poudel, former managing director Dr Jivendra Jha, former managing director Tika Ram BC, Deputy Director (accounts) Krishna Bahadur KC.

An 11th grade officer Dev Sharma Poudel, accounts officer Sushil Prasad Khanal and former coordinator of Electricity Development Project Mahesh Prasad Acharya were also among those arrested by the anti-graft body.

Previously, on August 4, the CIAA had arrested NEA Assistant Director Harish Bahadur Pal, assistant managers Surendra Paneru and Madan Raj Chapagain, engineer Prajwal Pandey, chief storekeeper Bharat Rupakheti and two Chinese nationals -- Hu Zheng Qiang and Zou Yi Tian of Hubei Sunlight Electric Co Ltd, China in the same case.

The anti-corruption body had made the first arrest after a three-month investigation. All the NEA officials taken into custody had been suspended from their respective positions.

A three-member probe committee formed earlier by NEA on the issue had found that around 1,275 transformers purchased from Hubei Sunlight Electric Co Ltd, China were of low quality. NEA´s tests in its lab and other labs showed that the transformers had aluminum wires instead of copper wires.