Rabi Lamichhane arrested

Kathmandu, October 18 — Former Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane has been arrested by the police.

The president of the Rashtriya Swotantra Party was apprehended by a team from the Crime Investigation Bureau (CIB) at the party's headquarters in Bansthali.

His arrest follows the Kaski District Court granting police permission to investigate allegations of embezzlement related to the Surya Darshan Cooperative.

Lamichhane is being investigated for allegedly collaborating with Gitendra Babu (GB) Rai, the founding chairman of the Surya Darshan Cooperative, to misappropriate funds through the Gorkha Media Network.

According to a parliamentary inquiry committee led by Surya Thapa, it has been concluded that Lamichhane, along with former DIG Chhabilal Joshi and Rai, received 654 million illegally from five cooperatives through the Gorkha Media Network.

Lamichhane served as a director of Gorkha Media, where he reportedly spent the misappropriated funds. Former DIG Chhabilal Joshi was arrested on September 22 on similar charges of embezzlement.