Gandaki, Dec 23: Recording the
statements of five defendants, including Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP)
President and former Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane, accused of cooperative
fraud, will begin at the District Court Kaski today.
Earlier on Sunday, the District
Attorney Office, Kaski, had filed a case against Lamichhane and 31 others on
the charge of cooperative fraud.
Lamichhane has also been booked for
organized crime and money laundering along with cooperative fraud.
District Court Kaski's Information
Officer Suraj Adhikari said that recording of the statements of Lamichhane,
Chhabilal Joshi and five other defendants presented before the court have
begun.
"The statements of the
defendants will begin after the bench is finalized and the detention order will
be issued only after the completion of the statement", he said.
According to the Attorney Office, a
case has been filed at the District Court Kaski against 63 people so far in
connection with the embezzlement of Suryadarshan cooperative in Pokhara.
Assistant District Attorney of
Kaski Office, Shanti Devi Sharma informed that 19 people, including Lamichhane
have also been booked for organized crime. Similarly, a case has been filed
against Lamichhane, Ram Bahadur Khanal, Chhabilal Joshi and Leela Pachai for
money laundering.
A case has been registered against
Lamichhane on money laundering with a claim of Rs 278.94 million. A case has
been filed against Chhabilal Joshi on charges of money laundering.
Lamichhane was arrested from
Kathmandu on October 18 on the charge of misappropriating the funds of the
cooperative. He is also being investigated in Kaski and other districts on the
charges of mismanaging cooperative funds.
The mastermind of Suryadarshan
cooperative fraud, GB Rai and other accused are still absconding. (RSS)