Himal Press 
POKHARA: The Kaski District Court has allowed police to keep Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) President and former Deputy Prime Minister, Rabi Lamichhane, in custody for seven more days for investigation.
A single bench of District Judge Chandrakanta Paudel extended the remand for Lamichhane, former DIG Chhabilal Joshi and Lila Pachhai by seven days on Thursday.
Lamichhane was arrested in Kathmandu last Friday and brought to Pokhara for investigation into the misappropriation of deposits from Suryadarshan Saving and Credit Cooperatives. Police presented him before the district court on Sunday and initially secured a six-day remand.
A case was filed at the District Police Office, Kaski, against 18 people, including Lamichhane, Joshi and Pachhai,, for channeling deposits from Suryadarshan cooperatives to Gorkha Media Network. The then-chairperson of the cooperative and the media company, GB Rai, is on the run.
Lamichhane has denied any role in transferring funds from the cooperative to the media company. However, he has said he would take responsibility for his spending when he was the managing director of the media company.
Lamichhane left Gorkha Media Network and formed RSP six months before the 2022 election.
Meanwhile, RSP has continued protests in Pokhara and other parts of the country, claiming that Lamichhane was arrested to settle a personal vendetta.
