Gangster Chakre Milan, 46 others held from birthday party

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Aug. 2: Nineteen individuals, including the infamous gangster Chakre Milan aka Milan Gurung, who were arrested during a birthday party celebration on Thursday, will remain in custody for at least seven days.

They were arrested from Sambala Hotel in Maharajgunj. The District Administration Office, Kathmandu, has granted permission to keep them in custody for investigation for seven days.

Kathmandu District Police Range, through their intense police operation on Thursday night, has apprehended 47 individuals, including infamous gangster Milan Gurung, aka Chakre Milan, from a hotel in the Maharajgunj area while they were celebrating Gurung’s birthday.

A joint team from the Kathmandu District Police and the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office raided Hotel Sambala, located on Bansbari Road, on Thursday night, where the gathering was underway.

Senior Superintendent of Police and Chief of the Kathmandu District Police Range, Bishwo Adhikari, confirmed the arrests of individuals with known criminal backgrounds. SSP Adhikari, however, refrained from sharing full details, citing the need for further investigation on Friday. 

An operation was conducted on Thursday night targeting individuals with past criminal records. 

According to police sources, celebrations for Chakre Milan’s birthday had been ongoing for two days. On Thursday afternoon, he was spotted in the Pashupatinath temple area, reportedly handing out money to beggars and interacting with local rappers in Thamel.

Several well-known rappers were present at the event, where Milan allegedly cut as many as 20 birthday cakes. His convoy, comprising multiple vehicles, escorted him in grand fashion through Kathmandu, drawing attention from both the district police and the crime investigation office.

Although Gurung has not been directly implicated in recent criminal activity, his high-profile movements and growing public presence raised security concerns. 

Late-night reports of loud disturbances from the hotel prompted SSP Adhikari of the Kathmandu Police to refer the matter to senior levels. Milan and nearly 50 others, many with criminal records, were detained on grounds of public nuisance.

The exact charges to be officially filed against the detainees remain uncertain. However, police officers have alleged that the individuals may be charged with public nuisance and violations of public and social order. 

This is not Gurung's first run-in with the law. On February 6, 2025, seven individuals were arrested after posting TikTok videos showing them cutting cakes with swords and displaying khukuris. They were charged with disrupting public order, but later released after the District Attorney decided not to pursue the case.

Following the 2006 People's Movement, Chakre Milan in Maharajgunj, Deepak Manange in Thamel, and Raju Gorkhali in Chabahil emerged as prominent figures within Kathmandu’s notorious gang landscape. Over time, other individuals such as Ganesh Lama and Dawa Lama also became part of the criminal hierarchy.

While some former gang leaders attempted to "cleanse" their image by joining politics, Manange even became a provincial minister in Gandaki, Gurung largely maintained a low profile in recent years, especially after the introduction of online bidding systems reduced criminal interference in contracts and tenders.

The police have aggressively cracked down on known gang leaders in recent years. High-profile encounters, such as the killings of Dinesh Adhikari 'Chari' and Kumar Ghainte, significantly reduced underworld influence in the capital.

Following the 2017 assassination of businessman Sharad Gauchan, further police action, including the killing of mastermind Manoj Pun and arrests of other suspects, caused criminal networks to retreat from public view.

Nevertheless, every change in police leadership brings renewed surveillance of individuals with a criminal past. For instance, recently, Yuvraj Gurung, alias Sanubhai, was arrested from a Thamel live music venue following an altercation on Wednesday. He had also been detained in June 2024 for assaulting the owner of Club Omnia in Thamel. At that time, he was paraded in handcuffs in the Thamel area as a warning.

Although released on bail of Rs. 10,000 by the Kathmandu District Administration Office for "indecent behaviour," Sanubhai’s arrest underlines the continued vigilance of the police toward those with tainted pasts.