Vishnu Poudel Detained in Surkhet During UML Meeting

Surkhet. From Monday morning, UML's 'Election Review and Party Reorganization Suggestions Collection Program' was underway at the popular Shubha Hotel in Birendranagar. The program, organized by the suggestion collection task force, was entirely managed by the UML Karnali Province Committee. UML General Secretary Shankar Pokharel, Vice-Chairpersons Ram Bahadur Thapa, Bishnu Poudel, and Prithvi Subba Gurung, who had arrived in Birendranagar on Sunday evening for the program, were on the stage. Also on stage was UML Secretary and Karnali Chief Minister Yamlal Kandel. Among the five representatives seated on the stage, Poudel was seated in the middle. According to UML Central Committee member Rudrabahadur Shahi, the program was only for listening to suggestions from provincial leaders throughout the day on Monday. District leaders were presenting their points in order. Leaders from Jajarkot were speaking. Around 5:15 PM, PSO went to Poudel's side. According to him, Poudel left without telling anyone. 'We thought he might have gone to urinate; the process of speaking from the lower floor was ongoing,' Central Committee member Shahi told Ratopati. 'The police did not enter; if the police had gone, we would have known.' Later, when checking Facebook, they were surprised to see the news that 'Bishnu Poudel' had been arrested. While most leaders were inside, apart from UML Surkhet Chairman Kulmani Devkota, no one else was aware of this. Devkota also stated that he learned that police officials were coordinating with the PSO. He said he knew nothing else. At the request of the police, the PSO came to the room saying 'I have to go to Kathmandu.' A conversation took place there. Surkhet's Chief of Police (SP) Thakur Prasad Pokharel himself arrived at the hotel with a car to take Poudel into custody. About a dozen plainclothes police officers were also mobilized. SP Pokharel then handed Poudel an arrest warrant. 'After that, Poudel quietly got into the civil car,' said an eyewitness. 'SP Pokharel walked ahead, Poudel in the car behind.' Pokharel took Poudel directly from the hotel to the District Police Office. By this time, leaders and cadres in the program hall were still unaware. 'After the news came, there was a moment of silence,' said another leader. 'Then there was some whispering, and the program continued.' The leader said that Poudel, who came with the campaign for party reorganization, was arrested without being able to speak a single word. According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Kabindra Singh Bohora of the District Police Office Surkhet, Poudel was taken into custody after the Department of Property Investigation sent a letter to the District Police Office Surkhet requesting his arrest for investigation. The letter from the department stated that Poudel was under investigation for an offense under Section 21 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2064, and requested the Surkhet police to arrest and produce him. Poudel was kept at the District Police Office for some time. Initially, there was a plan to send him to Kathmandu from Surkhet. However, after missing the flight schedule, it was decided to send him from Nepalgunj, and after completing all necessary procedures, he was handed over to Police Inspector Shyam Prasad Yadav and sent to Nepalgunj, Bohora said. However, due to the four-hour journey from Birendranagar to Nepalgunj, there was a delay, and Poudel was kept in Nepalgunj. Bohora said that initially, he was sent to the Karnali Province Training Center in Nepalgunj. However, he said he did not know about the matters beyond that. Poudel appeared disheartened as he boarded the police car from the premises of the District Police Office. ...What happened in the program after that? 'The leaders on stage pretended not to know, even if they knew,' said another leader. 'The program was not postponed.' There was no schedule for leaders to give speeches on Monday. At the end, UML Secretary and Karnali Province In-charge Yamlal Kandel spoke, concluding Monday's program. Kandel said: The government created terror. According to party leader Dal Rawal, who participated in the program, Kandel spoke on the matter. Kandel said that the government had created terror. 'The government created terror,' said Chief Minister Kandel. 'This will not end well. Sending someone who was supposed to go to Kathmandu to Surkhet was not good.'