Kathmandu, May 21
Dev Kumar Nepali, the mayor of Dhorpatan municipality in Baglung, is on the run after being accused of fraud.
The shareholders of Image Savings and Credit Cooperative say Nepali, who is the chairperson of the cooperative, embezzled funds. When questioned, he decided to flee.
“We tried to contact Nepali after being told by the shareholders of the cooperative he had been avoiding them. We were not able to get hold of him,” says Roshani Kumar Shrestha, the chief district officer of Baglung.
According to Shrestha, the Dhorpatan mayor had written to Baglung Police saying that he was going through continuous mental torture and was facing financial problems. He also said he was leaving Baglung for medical treatment and asked the police to protect his property.
“We are looking for him,” says Shrestha.
Dhan Bahadur Kathayat, the deputy mayor, said Nepali has gone missing in action after handing over the mayor’s responsibility to him.
“I heard he had issues with the cooperative but do not have any idea where he went,” says Kathayat.
