Former Home Minister Lamichhane remanded in custody for six days

The Kaski District Court on Sunday allowed police to keep Rastriya Swatantra Party President and former Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane in custody for six days to carry out an investigation on organized crime.

A single bench of Judge Nawaraj Dahal had allowed the police to keep Lamichhane in custody to conduct further investigation.

Suraj Adhikari, Information Officer of the District Court Kaski, said that the police have been allowed to keep Lamichhane in custody for six days for investigation.

Senior advocates Sushil Pant and Narayan Ghimire had argued on behalf of Lamichhane.

The Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police had arrested Lamichhane from Kathmandu on Friday after the Kaski District Court issued an arrest warrant against him to investigate the cooperative fraud case.

He was taken to Pokhara on Friday evening.

Prior to the arrest, Lamichhane had organized a press conference and said that he had been framed by the state.

The Parliamentary Special Committee on Cooperatives had recommended action against four persons including the then Managing Director of Gorkha Media Lamichhane.

Lamichhane was arrested on the basis of the same.

The Committee had recommended action against Gorkha Media Network Chairman GB Rai, the then Managing Director Lamichhane, member Kumar Ramtel and director Chhabiraj Joshi for misappropriating the funds of the cooperative.

Among them, police have arrested Joshi and are carrying out an investigation while Ramtel is also in police custody.

The Committee concluded that the money of the depositors in the cooperative was transferred illegally to the account of Gorkha Media Network Pvt Ltd and Lamichhane was also found involved in it.

The Committee made a conclusion that the funds of nine cooperatives across the country were embezzled in the Gorkha Media Network.

According to the report, the money of Suryadarshan of Pokhara, Supreme of Butwal, Swarnalakshmi of Kathmandu, Sahara of Chitwan, Sanopaila of Birgunj was embezzled in the Gorkha Media Network.

Similarly, it has been mentioned in the report that funds of Image, Samana, Sumeru and IME were also misappropriated in the Gorkha Media Network.

The Committee has recommended to the government that the director of the cooperatives and everyone involved in the decision-making process should be sent to the concerned authorities for action.

The Committee has also directed the government to immediately arrest Gitendra Babu, GB Rai, Than Bahadur Budha Magar, Dinesh Rokka, Sagar KC, Pichkan Khatun, Bhupendra Rai, who are on the run.