KATHMANDU, Feb 5: Rabi Lamichhane, chairman of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has appeared in the Chitwan District Court on Wednesday following a case registered in the Sahara Chitwan Multipurpose Cooperative Limited fraud case. Lamichhane’s case is set to be heard under the bench of Judge Daya Ram Dhakal.
On Tuesday, the District Government Attorney’s Office (DGAO) Chitwan filed a supplementary charge sheet in court against 15 individuals, including Lamichhane, and six organizations on charges of embezzling funds from the cooperative.
A case has been registered against Lamichhane, Chhabi Lal Joshi, Ram Bahadur Khanal, Rabina Rimal, Bishal Tamang, Nabin Achhami, Kabita Tamang, Deepak Lama, Ashraf Ali Seddique, Bhagwati Bamjan, Laxmi Prasad Poudel, Bigyan Rai, Netrapani Bastola, Shiva Bahadur Gurung and Pragati Shrestha. Earlier, there were 17 defendants in the first case registered on October 6.
At that time, the name of Lamichhane was not included. In the case filed on Tuesday, there are 15 defendants, including Lamichhane, and six institutions, including Gorkha Media Pvt Ltd and Sahara Nepal Saving and Credit Co-operative Society Limited. The five companies that received funds from Sahara Cooperative include Gorkha Media Network Pvt Ltd, Nature Herbs International Pvt Ltd, JB Group of companies, Spring Wood Estate Housing Pvt Ltd and Nature Nest Pvt Ltd.
Out of the total 32 individuals against whom cases have been filed, 12 are charged with fraud and organized crime, while 20 are charged only with fraud. Based on the investigation report of the District Police Office, Chitwan, Rs 389.79 million have been embezzled from Sahara Cooperative.
The DGAO has filed a case against Lamichhane only for cooperative fraud, while charges for organized crime have been lodged against 12 others.