Kaski Police to request four-day extension of remand for Lamichhane
KATHMANDU, Dec 16: The District Police Office (DPO), Kaski, has submitted a report on the investigation into the misappropriation of cooperative funds by the Gorkha Media Network (GMN) to the District Government Attorney's Office (DGAO), Kaski, recommending action against 51 individuals in the case.
Chief of the DPO, Superintendent of Police (SP) Shyam Babu Oliya informed Republica that a total of 65 individuals have been suspected of being involved in the cooperative scam, out of which 14 are yet to be identified. “We have identified 51 individuals, including Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) chairman Rabi Lamichhane, as suspects in the case and recommended the DGAO to file case against all of them,” he said, “Of the 51 individuals, 37 are absconding while 14 are in police custody.”
The report also mentions that GMN misappropriated Rs 1.51 billion from the depositors of six cooperatives across the country. Previously, the report from the parliamentary committee formed to investigate cooperative scams had stated that Rs 55.89 million was transferred from Suryadarshan Cooperative to GMN and that Rs 650 million was directly funneled from cooperatives across the country led by GB Rai into the media network.
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“Police investigation into the case from six DPOs have confirmed that more than Rs 1.51 billion of depositors’ savings was embezzled by GMN,” SP Oliya told Republica, “We have suggested to the DGAO to recover the amount from the defendants.”
Meanwhile, the DPO is preparing to request an extension of Lamichhane’s remand for four more. Spokesperson for the DPO, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Basanta Sharma informed Republica there are still four more days remaining from the maximum 60 days of remand for Lamichhane and the police will be requesting an extension of remand to keep him in custody for the maximum number of days.
“We will be looking to exhaust the maximum number of days under remand for Lamichhane so that the DGAO gets ample time to prepare the case according to the report submitted on Monday,” DSP Sharma said. A source from the DGAO, confirmed that the remand extension request will be made for a few more days, as the prosecution is still preparing the case on the basis of the police report.
There is a provision to detain individuals arrested for investigation into cooperative fraud for up to 25 days. Similarly, detention for 60 days is allowed for organized crime, and 90 days for investigation into money laundering, under the Asset (Money) Laundering Prevention Act.
The police submitted the investigation report against Lila Pachai, former home minister Lamichhane, former DIG of Nepal Police Chhabilal Joshi, and the director of Nature Herbs International Pvt Ltd Ram Bahadur Khanal, to the DGAO five days before the remand period expired. The report has recommended charging Lamichhane with money laundering and organized crime charges.
Former DIG Joshi was arrested in the cooperative fraud case from Kathmandu on September 22 and brought to Pokhara. Lamichhane was brought to Pokhara in the same case on October 18.
An earlier report of a parliamentary committee led by lawmaker Surya Thapa had recommended action against Lamichhane for his involvement in misappropriating funds from various cooperatives, including Surydarshan in Pokhara, Supreme Savings and Credit Cooperative in Butwal, Swarnalaxmi Cooperative in Kathmandu, Sahara Chitwan Multi-purpose Cooperative, Sano Paila Savings and Credit Cooperative in Birgunj, and Samanta Cooperative in Nepalgunj, which were transferred to GMN. Lamichhane’s statement has been recorded in all these locations.
The committee also recommended action against GB Rai, former DIG Joshi, and Kumar Ramtel, citing embezzlement through GMN. Among them, GB Rai is absconding, while Lamichhane and Chhabilal Joshi are in custody. Kumar Ramtel, the treasurer of Suryadarshan Cooperative, is also in custody at Kaski prison for trial.
