Probe panel formed to investigate cooperative fraud case holds first meeting today

KATHMANDU: The parliamentary investigation committee formed to investigate the cooperative fraud case is holding its first meeting today, Wednesday.

The meeting will take place shortly after the ongoing parliamentary session, with Speaker Dev Raj Ghimire in attendance at the federal parliament building.

The government established the “Parliamentary Investigation Special Committee” following sustained pressure from the opposition alliance led by the main opposition party, Nepali Congress (NC).

Led by CPN-UML lawmaker Surya Bahadur Thapa Chhetri, the committee has temporarily set up its office within the Parliament Secretariat.

The parliamentary committee had previously appealed to Speaker Dev Raj Ghimire to facilitate the establishment of an office and the allocation of necessary staff resources.

According to officials, an office for the parliamentary committee has been designated within the Parliament Secretariat compound, specifically in Building No. 2.

To investigate the cooperative scam, the government formed a seven-member parliamentary committee on May 28.

The committee comprises two representatives each from NC and UML, and one representative each from the CPN-Maoist Center, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP).

The members of the probe committee include Badri Prasad Pandey and Ishwari Devi Neupane from NC, Sarita Bhushal from CPN-UML, Lekh Nath Dahal from the Maoist Center, Shishir Khanal from RSP, and Dhruba Bahadur Pradhan from RPP.