Manange Arrested from Kathmandu

Former Gandaki Province Minister Deepak Manange has been detained by Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) officers in Kathmandu's Sano Bharyang area this morning. Manange, whose real name is Rajiv Gurung, was convicted of attempted murder in connection with a plot to kill notorious gangster Milan Gurung, known as Chakre Milan.

On Nov 5, the Supreme Court upheld a previous Patan Appellate Court ruling, which had sentenced Manange to five years in prison. This ruling superseded an earlier Kathmandu District Court verdict from 2007, which had initially handed him a two-year prison term. After a government appeal, the Patan Appellate Court escalated his sentence to five years in 2012, though he had remained at large until recently.

Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling, Manange avoided arrest until today. He was presented in court, where he was ordered to be detained at Dillibazar Jail. While Manange had previously refrained from appealing the Court of Appeal's decision for six years, he only filed an appeal with the Supreme Court after his arrest. Although initially dismissed for late filing, the court eventually accepted his appeal, releasing him on a bond of Rs 27,375.

Manange, elected unopposed to Gandaki Province's Assembly from Manang, previously served as a minister and was aligned with the Unified Socialist Party led by Madhav Nepal. Despite frequently voting against his party, he faced no disciplinary action. Now, following the Supreme Court's ruling, he will return to Dillibazar Jail to serve his sentence.