JHAPA, May 4: Rewati Khanal, former chairman of Patalganga Savings and Credit Cooperative in Birtamod, has been arrested for embezzling over Rs 20 million. He had taken loans in the names of his wife, brother, sister, and father-in-law and then gone into hiding.
According to police, Khanal was arrested in Dhangadhi and brought to Jhapa. He will be presented before the Jhapa District Court today.
On September 8, 2021, Khanal took Rs 20.6 million in loans using the names of his relatives. A police complaint was filed against him on November 2, 2021, by the cooperative’s then vice-chairman, Tanka Prasad Bhetwal.
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The cooperative has more than 1,500 members. After Khanal disappeared with the funds, newly elected chair Yubraj Giri mortgaged his private property to repay the members.
In December 2022, the court issued a summons notice for five accused in the case. Khanal’s sister, Goma Khanal Bhandari, and his father-in-law, Ananta Jeevan Luintel, were arrested but later released on bail. His wife, Kamaladevi Bhattarai, and brother, Sitaram Khanal, are still on the run.
Police are also investigating similar cases in other cooperatives in Jhapa.
In March, police arrested Jeeban Bhujel, branch head of Hamro Nepal Cooperative in Shivaganj, for embezzling Rs 33.5 million. The cooperative itself had filed the complaint.
Earlier in October, police had also arrested Suman Khanal, chair of Unnati Cooperative, and manager Mitralal Bhattarai for allegedly misusing Rs 13.9 million in savings. Their case is currently under review at the Jhapa District Court.
