Former Nepal Home Minister Lamichhane's detention extended

PTI, Kathmandu, Nov 24, 2024 : A court in Nepal on Sunday extended by 15 days the remand of Rabi Lamichhane, the former home minister and president of the Rashtriya Swatantra Party, to continue investigating allegations of cooperative frauds and money laundering.

     

The decision issued by Judge Himalal Belbase applies to Lamichhane and three others — former Deputy Inspector General of Police Chhabilal Joshi, Leela Pachhai, and Ram Bahadur Khanal.

     

Lamichhane, who was first arrested here on October 18, has already undergone multiple remand extensions, bringing the total detention period to 40 days.

     

A Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) team arrested Lamichhane from his party’s office in Banasthali, Kathmandu, and transferred him to Pokhara in Kaski district for investigation in a cooperative fraud case.

     

A special parliamentary probe committee report alleged that former television journalist Lamichhane as the managing director of the Gorkha Media Network was involved in diverting funds from multiple cooperatives, including Rs 30 million, into personal accounts.

     

The investigation follows a parliamentary special probe committee’s findings a couple of months ago, which implicated Lamichhane in financial irregularities while managing Galaxy 4K Television before he quit the media company to join politics in 2022.

     

During Sunday’s court hearing, government attorneys and legal representatives for the victims argued for the remand extension, citing incomplete document analysis and pending evidence collection.

     

However, Lamichhane’s legal team maintained the allegations lacked concrete evidence, opposing the extension.

     

Earlier, police took Lamichhane to Butwal to investigate his alleged involvement in the fund misappropriation from the Butwal-based Suryadarsan Cooperative.

     

In the meantime, district courts in Kathmandu and Chitwan issued arrest warrants against Lamichhane and others on charges of diverting deposits from Kathmandu-based Sworna Laxmi Cooperative and Chitwan-based Sahara Cooperative.