Ex-Home Minister Lamichhane in Custody Over Cooperative Embezzlement Probe

The Kaski District Court has remanded former Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane for six days to investigate charges of cooperative fund embezzlement. Lamichhane, currently chairing the Rastriya Swatantra Party, faces allegations of misappropriating funds tied to cooperative scams involving Gorkha Media and multiple cooperative institutions.

The Kaski District Court has ordered a six-day judicial remand for former Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane as a probe into cooperative fund embezzlement and organized crime continues. The decision, delivered by Judge Navaraj Dahal, came after a police request to deepen the investigation.

Kaski District Court's Information Officer, Suraj Adhikari, confirmed that Lamichhane, who is also the chairman of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), was detained by the Central Investigation Bureau from Kathmandu and brought to Pokhara for the hearing. The court further allowed the arrest of 13 additional suspects linked to the cooperative scam.

A parliamentary committee's report, tabled on September 16, implicated Lamichhane in the embezzlement of millions of rupees. The funds in question were channeled through Gorkha Media, exploiting forged documents. The report recommended legal action and emphasized the responsibility of shareholders and directors to ensure proper use of funds.