By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Sept. 24: Police will keep six alleged ATM hackers in detention for a maximum of 60 days for giving continuity to their interrogation.
The hackers would be kept in custody until the investigation report is submitted to the Kathmandu District Attorney office, police said on Monday.
“We are still taking statement of the six arrested ATM hackers that include five Chinese nationals and one Chinese-born French citizen with the help of language translators. The interrogation is turning out to be a tough one as they hardly speak on the issue,” Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) and Chief at the Metropolitan Police Range, Kathmandu, Uttam Raj Subedi said.
“For past 23 days, we are taking statement so that we would find out further clue behind the incident,” SSP Subedi said.
Regarding any banking fraud case, Nepal Police have a right to investigate and keep any alleged person under police detention for a maximum 60 days before filing the case at the District Attorney Office for court hearing.
According to him, the police are trying to reach to the nexus of the hackers who have mobilised their henchmen here in Nepal. “We are keeping an eye on both the foreign and domestic IT experts (hackers) who might have helped execute the hacking,” he said.
“We are grilling the alleged hackers as per the information and clues collected during the police operation after the hackers had drawn money from Nepal’s ATMs,” Subedi said.
Police have been grilling the five Chinese nationals- Zhu Liangang, the first person arrested from the Nabil Bank’s ATM in Durbarmarga, Lin Jianmeng, Luo Jailei, Qiu Yunging, Chen Bin Bin and French national Su Lusly, who were arrested the next day of the police operation. The five of them were preparing to take a flight from Tribhuvan International Airport.
Similarly, the police have been taking statements from the three arrested Nepali citizens operating money changing counters in Thamel, who had helped the hackers to change the the Nepali currency in the US dollar. Police had arrested Bedhnath Lamichhane, money changer owner Desco Money Exchange, Roshan Pradhan Shrestha of Nepalaya Money Exchange and manager Rewati Dawadi of Nepalaya. They had exchanged USD 28,862 from their exchange counters.
SSP Subedi said that they would also seek support of Interpol as in tracking and identifying the international racketeers involved in the bank heist. “The Kathmandu-based National Central Bureau (NCB) of Nepal Police has informed and cooperating in the issue,” SSP Subedi said.
Police said that the two hackers were successful in escaping the arrest in Kathmandu.