POKHARA: Rabi Lamichhane, Chairman of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), who is currently in custody at the Kaski District Police Office, has been produced to the Kaski District Court today.
The District Government Attorney’s Office has taken him to court to file a charge sheet against him for involvement in cooperative fraud, organized crime, and money laundering.
Heightened security measures have been implemented in the Kaski District Court area.
Today, the District Government Attorney’s Office will also register a charge sheet against 32 individuals, including Lamichhane, for these crimes.
Chhabilal Joshi has been in custody for 90 days as of last Friday.
While it was initially expected that the charge sheet would be filed on Friday, as per legal provisions that permit a maximum of 90 days’ detention for money laundering charges, the District Government Attorney’s Office has only moved to register the case today.
Kamala Kafle, Chief of the Kaski District Public Prosecutor’s Office, said that despite the delay, the case will still be filed within the legal time frame.
“The deadline is midnight on Friday, and since Saturday was a holiday, we are registering the case today (Sunday),” she said.
Lamichhane’s most recent 4-day detention extension expired on Friday at midnight.
On Friday, a supplementary charge sheet was filed in the district court, requesting additional charges for 19 individuals, including Gitendra Babu Rai (GB), in the same case.
According to Kafle, the charge sheet filed on Friday adds charges of organized crime to the original charge of cooperative fraud, which was filed last year. Initially, a case had been registered against 19 individuals, including GB, only for cooperative fraud.
The original case claimed that officials from Surya Darshan Cooperative embezzled NPR 1.11 billion from depositors.
However, in the charge sheet filed on Friday, the fine amount was revised to NPR 1.514 billion, plus NPR 19,194 in penalties.
The charge sheet demands that the accused pay the specified amount and an additional fine under the Cooperatives Act.
It also seeks prison sentences under the same law. Additionally, the charge sheet calls for penalties related to organized crime and money laundering, and it seeks punishment for GB Rai for his involvement in cryptocurrency trading.
Earlier, a case had been filed against GB Rai, former chairman of Surya Darshan Cooperative, along with his brother Bhupendra Rai, current chairman Than Bahadur Budha, vice-chairman Kailash Kumar Darlami, secretary Dhiraj Kumar Das, treasurer Kumar Ramtel, and others, on charges of cooperative fraud.
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