The Kaski District Court on Thursday, December 12, granted police permission to detain Rabi Lamichhane, Chairman of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), for an additional five days in custody.
The court’s bench, led by Justice Chandrakant Paudel, approved the request for an extension of the detention, Suraj Adhikari, Information Officer at the court, told the state-run news agency RSS.
Lamichhane, arrested on October 18 from his party office in Banasthali, Kathmandu, faces allegations of misuse of cooperative funds, money laundering, and involvement in organised crime.
This marks the sixth extension of Lamichhane’s detention. Initially, the court granted a six-day custody period, which was extended by seven days on October 24, 10 days on November 5, 13 days on November 10, 15 days on November 24, and 4 days on December 8.
With Thursday marking his 56th day in custody, current regulations allow detention up to 60 days for organized crime probe and up to 90 days for money laundering investigations.
Besides Pokhara, Lamichhane has taken to four districts – Rupandehi, Kathmandu, Chitwan and Parsa – to record his statements regarding fraud allegations tied to several cooperatives. These include Suryadarshan Cooperative in Pokhara, Supreme Cooperative in Butwal, Swarnalakshmi Cooperative in Kathmandu, Sahara Chitwan Cooperative, and Sano Paila Cooperative in Parsa.
The repeated extensions of Lamichhane’s detention have sparked criticism from political figures, including former prime ministers Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Baburam Bhattarai, who have condemned it as excessive and a violation of human rights. Some accuse authorities of using prolonged detention as a form of harassment under the guise of security concerns.
RSP, Nepal’s fourth-largest party in the House of Representatives, has strongly opposed the detention, claiming the ruling party is orchestrating a campaign of “injustice” against Lamichhane. The party argues that the investigation could have proceeded without such extended custody.
Lamichhane, a former television personality turned politician, was elected to the federal parliament from Chitwan and has served as Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister. Despite the charges, he continues to assert his innocence in the cooperative funds case.
(With inputs from RSS)
