Supreme Cooperative fraud: Lamichhane questioned for second day, denies involvement

Butwal, November 13 — Former Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane was questioned for a second consecutive day on Wednesday by the Rupandehi District Government Attorney's Office regarding allegations of organized fraud involving funds from the Supreme Cooperative in Butwal. As Lamichhane's statement was not yet complete, the questioning will continue on Thursday, according to the office.

Prakash Raj Paudel, the district attorney for Rupandehi, confirmed to Ratopati that, although two days of questioning had taken place, the investigation was still ongoing and Lamichhane's statement had not yet been fully recorded.

Paudel mentioned that the questioning process was nearing its final stages, though the work of numbering the statements had not been completed. During today’s questioning, officers including DSP Bijay Pandit from the Butwal Area Police Office, District Attorney Prakash Raj Paudel, and several investigation officers were involved in the process.

Rupandehi District Police Chief SP Ranjit Singh Rathore stated that Lamichhane would be kept at the district police office for the time being. Lamichhane, who was brought from Pokhara to Bhairahawa on Tuesday afternoon, began giving his statement on Wednesday.

Lamichhane was brought to the District Government Attorney's Office at 10:10 AM on Wednesday for questioning, and the session lasted until 7 PM, after which he was taken back to the police office.

Lamichhane denies allegations

During his two-day statement, Lamichhane has denied any involvement in the fraud related to the Supreme Cooperative case. He maintained that he was innocent, asserting that he had no role in the organized embezzlement of funds from the cooperative. 

Lamichhane rejected the allegations that he had taken NPR 142.9 million from the Supreme Saving and Credit Cooperative and spent it at Gorkha Media Network Pvt. Ltd. He claimed that he had no knowledge of how the cooperative’s funds ended up at Gorkha Media, stating that GB Rai was responsible for all the related activities and that he was unaware of the details.

According to sources, Lamichhane clarified that he had no involvement in managing or overseeing the finances of any cooperative, and he was not a member or borrower of the Supreme Cooperative. He further stated that he had not signed any documents, requested any loans, or submitted any applications related to the cooperative funds. Lamichhane questioned how he could be linked to any financial misconduct, given his lack of involvement.

Sources indicated that once his statement is completed, Lamichhane is expected to be sent back to the Kaski Police for further procedures.

Protests suspended

The protests that began after Lamichhane's arrival in Bhairahawa have been temporarily suspended. On Tuesday, members of the cooperative victims and Lamichhane's party, the Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSP), held demonstrations throughout the day in Bhairahawa.

While RSP cadres continued to protest on Wednesday, the cooperative victims did not hold any demonstrations. RSP Lumbini Province Vice President Shalikram Ghimire confirmed that no rally would take place in support of Lamichhane on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Cooperative Victim Struggle Committee, which had planned a procession on Wednesday in Bhairahawa, has stated that there are no plans for a street protest tomorrow.