Lamichhane gets bail on 84th day of arrest [Timeline]

POKHARA: The Kaski District Court ordered the release of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) President and former Deputy Prime Minister Rabi Lamichhane on a bail of Rs 6.5 million on Thursday – the 84th day of his arrest.

District Judge Nitij Rai issued the order on Thursday after hearing arguments from lawyers representing plaintiffs and defendants as well as government attorneys.

Lamichhane, who was arrested on charges of misappropriating funds from Suryadarshan Savings and Credit Cooperative, was taken into custody on October 18, 2023, from his party’s central office in Banasthali, Kathmandu. He was transferred to Pokhara on the same day.

While in the custody of Kaski police, Lamichhane was taken to Rupandehi, Kathmandu, Parsa and Chitwan to record his statements on similar cases related to cooperatives in these districts.

On October 20, the Kaski District Court remanded Lamichhane into custody for six days. The remand was extended by seven days on October 24.

The investigation against Lamichhane centered on his alleged role in the misappropriation of deposits from the Suryadarshan Cooperatives. On October 6, 2023, a charge sheet was filed against 19 people, including former Gorkha Media Network chairperson GB Rai, his brother Bhupendra Rai, and Suryadarshan chairperson Than Bahadur Budha, for siphoning deposits from the cooperative to Gorkha Media Network.

The District Government Attorney’s Office, Kaski, filed a charge sheet against Lamichhane and 30 others on December 22.

Earlier, a parliamentary special committee formed under the leadership of UML lawmaker Surya Thapa named Lamichhane among others guilty of misappropriating cooperative funds.

As part of implementing the committee’s report, police arrested Lamichhane and Chhabilal Joshi, former director of Gorkha Media Network, among others.

Timeline:

October 18: Arrested from Rastriya Swatantra Party’s central office, transferred to Pokhara
October 20: Kaski District Court grants 6-day custody for investigation
October 20: Second custody extension in Kaski for 7 days
November 5: Third custody extension in Kaski for 10 days
November 10: Fourth custody extension in Kaski for 13 days
November 12: Taken to Rupandehi from Pokhara to record a statement
November 24: Fifth custody extension in Kaski for 15 days
November 28: Taken to Kathmandu from Pokhara to record a statement
December 3: Taken to Chitwan from Kathmandu for a statement
December 8: Sixth custody extension in Kaski for 4 days
December 9: Taken to Parsa from Pokhara for investigation
December 10: Statement recorded in Parsa
December 11: Transferred to Pokhara via Kathmandu from Parsa
December 12: Seventh custody extension in Kaski for 5 days
December 16: Police submit investigation report to public prosecutor’s office
December 17: Eighth custody extension by Kaski District Court for 4 days
December 22: Charge sheet filed at Kaski District Court
December 23: Detention hearing begins
January 9: Released on bail