Pokhara, December 20
The Kaski District Court is set to file a case today against GB Rai and 19 others involved in the Suryadarshan Cooperative fraud case. However, the case against Rastriya Swatantra Party President Rabi Lamichhane, former DIG Chhabilal Joshi, and three others will be filed on Sunday.
According to the Kaski District Government Attorney’s Office, the first phase of prosecution targets 19 individuals against whom arrest warrants were issued earlier. The cases against Rabi, Chhabilal, and their associates—Nature Herbs operator Ram Bahadur Khanal, Lila Pachhai, and Suryadarshan Cooperative manager Krishna Gurung—will follow after additional complaints are processed.
“Today, we will file the case against the 19 individuals already detained, while the case involving Rabi and others will be filed on Sunday,” said Kamala Kafle, a government attorney at the Kaski District Government Attorney’s Office.
The investigation began after complaints from depositors led police to issue arrest warrants on September. Among those detained for trial are Kailash Darlami, vice-chair of Suryadarshan Cooperative; treasurer Kumar Ramtel; former director Shiv Bahadur Gurung (Mahendra Bhote); and members including Pramod Bhattarai and Bhavishwar Aryal.
Notable absconders include former chairperson GB Rai, his brother Bhupendra, current chairperson and manager Than Bahadur Budha, and others such as Dheeraj Kumar Das, Hemant Adhikari, and Sagar KC. Loan officer Buddhi Gurung and several others are also on the run.
The investigation report submitted by police highlighted misappropriation of funds by creating fake share members and accounts. According to the report, the cooperative officials siphoned off funds by registering assets under personal names instead of the cooperative’s.
