Former DIG Joshi’s testimony recording halted due to ‘poor health’

KATHMANDU, Sept 26: The statement recording of former DIG Chhabilal Joshi, who was arrested in connection with a cooperative fraud case involving the Pokhara-based Suryadarshan Savings and Cooperative Limited, has been halted due to his poor health.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Mohan Kumar Thapa at the District Police Office (DPO), Kaski, told Republica that the recording of the testimony was stopped due to Joshi’s deteriorating health due to bronchitis. SP Thapa mentioned that the statement recording might resume Friday.

On Tuesday, the District Government Attorney’s Office recorded his statement for two and a half hours, starting from 10:30 am to 1 pm. According to the DPO, once the testimony recording resumes, it may take another two days to be completed.

Following a directive issued by the home ministry on Sunday to implement the recommendations of the Parliamentary Special Committee formed to investigate the embezzlement and misuse of funds in cooperative organizations, the police were ordered to take action against individuals implicated in the report. Joshi, the former director of Gorkha Media, along with the office-bearers of other cooperatives, were kept under police surveillance in connection with the cooperative scam. Joshi was arrested the same day and flown to Pokhara in the night.

On Monday, the Kaski District Court granted permission to the police to keep Joshi in custody for five days for further investigation. The court cited allegations of systematic fraud in violation of the Cooperative Act, 2017, and the Prevention of Organized Crime Act, 2007, as reasons for detaining him.

The seven-member probe panel led by CPN-UML lawmaker Surya Thapa concluded that several cooperatives, including Suryadarshan Cooperative in Pokhara, had transferred their funds to Gorkha Media.

Joshi initially held a 50 percent stake in Galaxy TV, operated by Gorkha Media Pvt Ltd, but left the company sometime after the channel's launch. Following his departure, his shares were transferred to Gorkha Media Chairman GB Rai.

A team from the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) in Kathmandu has also been deployed to assist in the investigation into the embezzlement of funds from Suryadarshan Savings and Credit Cooperative. The CIB has sent two officers to Pokhara to support the ongoing inquiry.