Kathmandu, December 20
Preparations to file a case against Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) President Rabi Lamichhane, currently in custody at the District Police Office in Kaski over a cooperative fraud scandal, have reached the final stages.
On December 16, the District Police Office submitted its investigation report to the District Government Attorney’s Office. The report recommends a compensation claim of Rs 1.51 billion against Lamichhane, former Gorkha Media Pvt. Ltd. operator Chhabilal Joshi, and others implicated in the case.
The court had extended the investigation period by four days starting December 16 to allow further review of the report. This extension is set to expire at midnight on Friday, December 20. As Saturday is a public holiday, authorities plan to register the case either today or on Sunday.
“There is a legal requirement to file the case within 90 days, so the deadline extends until Sunday,” a source at the Kaski District Government Attorney’s Office said. “The case will be filed today if possible, or by Sunday at the latest.”
A parliamentary special investigation committee previously recommended action against Lamichhane, who served as the Managing Director of Gorkha Media Network. The committee alleged Lamichhane’s involvement in misappropriating funds from several cooperative organisations, including Pokhara’s Suryadarshan, Butwal’s Supreme Savings and Credit Cooperative, Kathmandu’s Swarnalakshmi Cooperative, Sahara Chitwan Multipurpose Cooperative, Birgunj’s Sano Paila Savings and Credit Cooperative, and Nepalgunj’s Samanata Cooperative.
The investigation process began following the committee’s recommendations. Chhabilal Joshi, a former DIG, was arrested in Kathmandu on September 22 in connection with the Suryadarshan fraud case and taken to Pokhara. Rabi Lamichhane was arrested on October 19. Both were interrogated in Butwal, Chitwan, Kathmandu, and Birgunj during the investigation.
Since cases involving organised crime must be filed within 90 days, the timeline for Lamichhane’s case has been calculated from the day of Joshi’s initial detention and subsequent remand extensions.
