POKHARA: The former Registrar of the Gandaki Office of Cooperative Registrar Uday Bahadur Parajuli has been arrested from his workplace in Kusma, on Wednesday,  in connection with financial irregularities linked to the expansion of Kaski’s Mitramilan Cooperative’s operational area.

Following the disclosure of financial discrepancies and alleged misappropriation of funds aimed at expanding Kaski’s Mitramilan Cooperative’s working domain, an arrest warrant was issued against Parajuli.

Since the issuance of the warrant, he had been unreachable. Parajuli currently holds the position of Chief Administrative Officer in Kusma Municipality, Parbat.

A few days ago, the district court in Kaski issued the warrant, prompting the Kaski Police to launch a search for him.

Before assuming his current role in Kusma Municipality, Parajuli served as the registrar at the Gandaki Cooperative Office. During his tenure, reports surfaced indicating that he acquired funds from the cooperative’s management to expand the operational area of the Mitramilan Savings and Loan Cooperative in Pokhara. Investigations unveiled discrepancies in the amount obtained by Parajuli during this period, totaling NPR 15 million.

Several individuals, including the chairman of Ward 21 in Pokhara, remain at large in this case.

DSP Shravan Kumar Bikal, the spokesperson for Kaski Police, reported ongoing investigations and searches against individuals accused of embezzlement and financial irregularities at the Mitramilan Savings and Loan Cooperative, Suryadarshan Savings, and Image Savings cooperatives. Among those currently evading arrest are former chairman GB Rai and founding chairman Dev Bahadur Nepali of Image Savings.

As cooperatives face mounting allegations of embezzlement and the potential loss of depositors’ savings, workers in the cooperative sector express concerns about upholding trust in the market.