KATHMANDU: The District Court of Kathmandu is preparing to issue arrest warrants against two senior leaders of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) in connection with the violent pro-monarchy protest that erupted in Tinkune on March 28.
According to court officials, senior vice president Rabindra Mishra and general secretary cum Member of Parliament Dhawal Shamsher Rana are listed as absconding defendants in the case.
Since they failed to appear before the court when the case was filed, a formal warrant with a deadline will now be issued to ensure their presence.
“If they are not arrested within seven days, a public notice will be issued in their respective localities giving them a 70-day deadline to appear,” a court source said. “If they fail to show up within that period as well, they will be treated as fugitives and the case will proceed with pre-trial detention orders in absentia.”
The warrant could be issued as early as Friday, following a court ruling on Thursday that proceeded despite both leaders’ absence.
Rana, who had been arrested after the protest, was released on April 20 on bail, citing the need to continue cancer treatment. Mishra, who had been in custody for 49 days, was released on May 16 following a habeas corpus order by the Supreme Court. However, both leaders failed to appear in the Kathmandu District Court when the government attorney’s office filed the formal charges.
As a result, three lawyers and personal secretaries who had posted bail on behalf of the leaders have been fined Rs 25,000 each for contempt of court.
Comment