KATHMANDU, Dec 22: The Rupandehi District Court has ordered the release on bail of Chhabilal Joshi, former DIG and then operator of Gorkha Media Network, who had been remanded in custody for trial in a cooperative fraud case.
On Sunday, a single bench of Rupandehi District Court Judge Dilliram Sharma Aryal issued an order to release Joshi after fixing bail.
Court releases former DIG Chhabilal Joshi on Rs 5 million bail
Earlier, Joshi had filed a petition seeking permission to fight the case while out of custody. Hearing the petition, the Butwal High Court had directed that the case file, along with a clarification report, be sent back to the district court.
Following the Butwal High Court’s directive, the district court reheard the case on Sunday and paved the way for Joshi’s release on bail.
Joshi had been in custody for a long time on charges of embezzling depositors’ funds of the Supreme Cooperative in Butwal and on allegations of organized crime. He was accused of misappropriating cooperative funds through Gorkha Media Network.
Previously, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chair Rabi Lamichhane, who was also implicated in the same case, had been ordered released by the Butwal High Court.
Joshi received the bail order through the judicial process two days after Lamichhane’s release.
