KATHMANDU, Jan 26: The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has clarified that only Mahendra Pandey, also known as Mahananda Jaisi, is a party member among those arrested for attacking Senior Advocate Dinesh Tripathi. The party has stated that Lalit Kumar KC and Sheetal, also known as Sita Rai, are not party members.
RSP’s acting General Secretary Kabindra Burlakoti stated that the party would immediately take action if any involvement in the attack is proven. He clarified that Mahendra was present at the scene but did not participate in the attack. For this reason, Burlakoti said that the party had not taken any action against him.
RSP in Humla appointed Mahananda, who was arrested, as its founding vice-chairperson. Before the party expanded its organization, he was spontaneously declared the vice-chairperson of the RSP district committee. He is currently an active member of the RSP.
Contempt of court case filed against Advocate Tripathi
Recently, Mahananda regularly visited the central office of the RSP. Its leaders stated that he would become aggressive whenever anyone argued against Chairman Rabi Lamichhane.
Burlakoti stated that another person arrested, 48-year-old Lalit Kumar KC from Tamakoshi Rural Municipality-1 in Dolakha, had applied for membership in RSP. However, the party has not accepted his membership. Burlakoti also confirmed that Sita Devi Rai from Jhapa is not a member of RSP.
A mob attacked Senior advocate Tripathi, who had represented the victims of the Swarnalaxmi Cooperative fraud case against Lamichhane in Kalimati, Kathmandu. After Tripathi filed a complaint on January 15, the investigation has been ongoing.
The police have arrested three individuals during the investigation. However, they have not yet decided whether to file charges against them.
RSP issued a statement on the same day, announcing that it would take action against any members involved in the attack. The party also stated that the investigation commission was aware of the matter and would act swiftly against those found guilty.
Bharat Devkota, the chairperson of the investigation commission, explained that the commission has not yet completed its investigation to identify the guilty parties. He added that the process of taking action will proceed according to the findings of the investigation.
