Rabi Lamichhane's sleeping photo sparks controversy

Pokhara, December 19 – On Wednesday evening, Deepak Bohara, the Deputy Treasurer of the Rashtriya Swatantra Party, posted a photo on social media, raising questions about the government and the Nepal Police. Bohara claimed that the photo was of the party president, Rabi Lamichhane, who is currently in custody at the Kaski District Police detention center.

Bohara questioned the purpose of the public release of the photo, which he claimed was a CCTV image of Lamichhane resting in his detention cell. He wrote, "There is a limit to injustice. This CCTV photo of Rabi Dai sleeping in the detention cell, who did Kaski Police send the screenshot to? And for what purpose was it made public? What is the value of this photo? If justice isn't dead, someone will have to pay for this."

After the photo was made public, a debate started on social media from various perspectives. Some raised questions about the authenticity of the photo.

In a Facebook live session on Thursday morning, Bohara confirmed that the photo was indeed of Rabi. However, he reiterated his question, stating that he had found the image on social media and questioning how it was leaked.

It has now been revealed that the photo was actually made public by Dr. Nicholas Bhusal, a supporter of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), who has also been demonstrating in support of Rabi Lamichhane.

Bhusal has admitted that he was the one who took the photo. He said, "I took the photo myself. It shouldn't have been shared, I made a mistake," he told Ratopati. "The intention was to send a message that Rabi Dai is fine and there is no need to worry, but it backfired. That's why I removed it."

In fact, Bhusal had posted a call for gathering for a 'People's Rebellion' on social media two days ago. Along with a poster calling for participation in a protest in Chitwan on Saturday, he had shared the viral photo of Rabi. However, after RSP's Deputy Treasurer Bohara raised questions about the photo, Bhusal removed it.

According to sources from the Kaski Police, a few days ago, Nicholas Bhusal had gone to the police detention center to meet Rabi Lamichhane. However, the police informed him that Rabi was sleeping and that it was not possible to meet him at that moment.

After Bhusal insisted on meeting Rabi, he was shown the CCTV footage of Rabi sleeping. However, the police have not been able to clarify how Bhusal was able to bring a mobile device into the area where the CCTV footage was captured.

Meanwhile, the Kaski Police have launched an investigation to find the person who posted the photo.

Kaski Police spokesperson DSP Basanta Kumar Sharma stated that they are aware of the incident and an investigation is underway. "We have seen the photo circulating on social media. We are aware of it," he said. "We are searching for who did this."