Kaski police quizzes former home minister Lamichhane

Published On: September 2, 2024 03:55 PM NPT By: Tapendra Karki

KATHMANDU, Sept 2: Within two months of leaving the government, former home minister Rabi Lamichhane has been interrogated by the police. According to a source from the Police Headquarters, Kaski district police took a statement from Lamichhane, who is also the Chairman of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and a Member of the House of Representatives, a few days ago in connection with a complaint regarding the embezzlement of savings from the Suryadarshan Cooperative in Pokhara.

The police conducted a general inquiry with him (Rabi Lamichhane). Kaski Police questioned Lamichhane a few days after the parliamentary special committee, formed to probe the cooperative fraud, took a nine-hour statement from him, a source from the Police Headquarters said. The parliamentary special committee had taken a statement from Lamichhane on the same matter on August 23.

According to the source, a team from the District Police Office, Kaski, led by DSP Basanta Kumar Sharma, came to Kathmandu and took statements from former home minister and Member of Parliament Rabi Lamichhane, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Joint General Secretary Bipin Acharya, and former Nepal Police DIG Chhabilal Joshi in connection with the cooperative fraud case. The police took Lamichhane’s statement based on a complaint filed against him on February 5, 2024, at the Kaski Police Office. The complainants alleged that the savings from Suryadarshan Cooperative were transferred to Gorkha Media Pvt Ltd, where Lamichhane was the managing director at the time, and that loans were also issued in Lamichhane's name, prompting the depositors to file a supplementary complaint against him.

When Lamichhane was the home minister, the police were unable to proceed with the complaint. It is only now that the police have begun the process. "The police will investigate this matter," said a senior official at the Police Headquarters.

Similarly, it was found through an investigation that on July 6, 2021, a loan of Rs 19 million was issued in the name of Kumar Ramtel from the Supreme Savings and Credit Cooperative Limited in Butwal. Of this amount, Rs 10.36 million was deposited into the account of Gorkha Media Network Pvt Ltd at Global IME Bank, while the remaining amount was shown as a loan settlement in Lamichhane’s account, and the loan was recorded in Kumar Ramtel’s name.

Similarly, the investigation found that a loan was issued in the name of Bhupendra Babu Rai from the Supreme Savings and Credit Cooperative, and funds were deposited into the accounts of Gorkha Media Network Pvt Ltd. On September 27, 2020, Rs 10 million was deposited into their account at Siddhartha Bank. Additionally, Rs 10 million on April 18, 2021, Rs 3 million on April 22, 2021, and Rs 10 million on June 18, 2021, were deposited into their account at Global IME Bank, totaling Rs 33 million.

It was also found that on February 11, 2021, a loan of Rs 25 million was issued in the name of Chhabilal Joshi from the Supreme Savings and Credit Cooperative. Out of this, Rs 24.5 million was deposited into the account of Gorkha Media Network Pvt Ltd at Global IME Bank. When questioned about this by the parliamentary special committee, Rabi Lamichhane claimed that he was not involved in such activities and suggested that GB Rai might know about it.

From the Suryadarshan Savings and Credit Cooperative Limited in Pokhara, Rs 5 million was issued in favor of Gorkha Media Network Pvt Ltd via Mega Bank’s account payee check No 2027221085 on May 17, 2021, and another Rs 5 million via check No 2027221099 on June 24, 2021. At that time, Rabi Lamichhane was also the operator of Gorkha Media Network. On July 15, 2021, a loan was set up under the title ‘Suryadarshan Business Loan’ in Lamichhane's name, with loan No 116-4456, and was settled through remittance.

At the Suryadarshan Savings and Credit Cooperative, loan No 116-4456 in Rabi Lamichhane's name, amounting to Rs 10 million with an interest rate of 14.75 percent, had an interest of Rs 1.475 million for the first year and Rs 1.613 million for the second year. This totaled Rs 13.089 million. On June 28, 2023, a new loan account No 116-4801 was opened in the name of Gorkha Media Network Pvt Ltd, establishing this loan.

On July 15, 2021, Rs 10 million was disbursed in Rabi Lamichhane's name through a bridge-cap loan (through culvert loan) from Supreme Cooperative. Lamichhane has claimed to the parliamentary special committee that he was not involved in any of these details.

RSP's General Secretary Acharya was the Creative Director at Gorkha Media Network at that time. It has been found that Rs 10 million was also transferred from Surydarshan Cooperative to Gorkha Media Network in Acharya's name on December 21, 2021. The police have also questioned former Galaxy Television founder and former DIG Joshi.

Joshi was also a partner of GB (Gitendra Babu) Rai, an investor in Galaxy Television. He later left Gorkha Media. The police have questioned Joshi because the funds from the cooperative were misappropriated at Gorkha Media, and Joshi had been a partner there at one time.