Pradeep Adhikari’s flight to power—and the turbulent fall

He became most powerful, most controversial official in Nepal’s aviation sector, exposing a system where policy corruption, patronage and regulatory failure trump public safety.

Does anyone voluntarily demote themselves? In a bureaucracy built on hierarchy, power, and survival, such an act is almost unheard of. Yet a few months ago, something extraordinary unfolded inside the boardroom of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).