Police on Friday, October 18, evening arrested Rastriya Swatantra Party Chair Rabi Lamichhane from his party office in Banasthali, Kathmandu for his alleged involvement in the misuse of cooperative funds.
Earlier in the day, the District Court, Kaski had granted police permission to arrest Lamichhane, also the former deputy prime Minister and home minister.
Lamichhane would be taken to Kaski via road, police said, as the Kaski District Police Office has been investigating the case involving Lamichhane. He has been accused of embezzling funds brought from the cooperatives to Gorkha Media in collaboration with GB Rai, the founder chairman of Suryadarshan Cooperative.
Speaking to his party cadres and media before being detained, Lamichhane claimed he was well aware, the very day the previous government was toppled, that the new government had vowed to go any length to arrest him.
Read: Recovery of Funds from Cooperatives Unlikely as their Liabilities Exceed Assets
“It is a blow to the campaign of hope and belief that the county has been witnessing,” Lamichhane said regarding his arrest, reiterating that he was innocent and would cooperate with the judicial process.
The arrest comes a month after the parliamentary committee tasked with investigating the misappropriation of public savings in cooperatives recommended legal action against Lamichhane for his alleged involvement in the misuse of cooperative funds.
According to the committee, while Gitendrababu (GB) Rai, chairman of a cooperative and media outlet, is seen as the mastermind behind transferring cooperative funds to Gorkha Media, Lamichhane also bears responsibility due to his role as managing director of the media company.
Earlier in the day, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Chairman of the CPN (Maoist Centre), had hinted that the government was planning to arrest Lamichhane. During a meeting of opposition parties on Friday, Dahal had said that recent remarks by Prime Minister KP Oli and other top leaders from ruling parties indicated that the government was preparing to detain the RSP Chair.
On Wednesday, the main leaders of the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, and Maoist Centre met in Baluwatar, the prime minister’s official residence.
(With inputs from RSS)
