KATHMANDU, August 3: Krishna Bahadur Mahara, the vice chairman of the ruling CPN (Maoist Center), who was embroiled in the 9 kg gold smuggling case, has claimed that he is not involved in the case.

Mahara reiterated his non-involvement in a status on the social networking site Facebook today. He had earlier said that he was not involved in the gold smuggling case.  

Mahara took to his Facebook to write that he did not call the Chinese nationals and clarified that the mentioned phone numbers are not his. He also promised to assist in a fair investigation if necessary in this regard. The name of Mahara's son Rahul Mahara has also been embroiled in this case. But Mahara did not talk about his son in his Facebook status. Surprisingly, police did not even make a general inquiry into the Mahara father-son duo. 

Mahara wrote, “I want to inform you that my name has been linked to the gold case in the media for a few days now. Again, I want to make it clear that I have no involvement in this. I would like to make it clearer that the mentioned phone number is not mine and I have not used it. I strongly urge everyone not to fall into unnecessary confusion.”

The Tribhuvan International Airport customs office seized 9 kg of gold hidden in electronic cigarettes (Vape) on 25 December 2022. It has come to light that the Mahara father-son duo repeatedly called the customs officers and pressured them to release the gold. 

According to the report submitted by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police to the public prosecutor's office, the Mahara father-son duo called the customs department staff several times and pressured them to either release the seized gold hidden in the e-cigarettes or auction it.

 
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