KATHMANDU – The Nepal Police has initiated procedures to potentially implicate the Chairman of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) in an organized crime case, following directives from Home Affairs Minister Ramesh Lekhak to act on a recent parliamentary probe report regarding the misuse of cooperative savings funds.

According to a high-ranking source at Nepal Police Headquarters, the police are considering the possibility of arresting former Home Affairs Minister Lamichhane under the Organized Crime Prevention Act 2070. This comes after the parliamentary report did not directly link him to a cooperative scam under the Cooperative Act 2074.

The source indicated that the probe report concluded Lamichhane was not directly involved in the operations of the cooperatives connected to Gorkha Media, making it challenging to secure an arrest warrant for him under the cooperative scam allegations. It is believed that the court may issue an arrest warrant if his involvement is investigated as organized crime.

Earlier on Sunday, officials from the Metropolitan Police Crime Division (MPCD) arrested Chhabilal Joshi, the former director of Gorkha Media Network, in connection with a cooperative scam involving the embezzlement of funds from Surya Darshan Cooperative in Pokhara. The police are transporting Joshi to Pokhara, where the case against him has been registered. The Kathmandu District Court previously denied an arrest warrant for Lamichhane concerning the cooperative scam.

Another source clarified that Lamichhane will still face trial for four offenses, including the cooperative scam. The court did not issue an arrest warrant against him since he was not found to be directly involved in the cooperative’s operations. However, if arrested under any of the charges, he will be interrogated regarding all four.

DIG Dan Bahadur Karki, spokesperson for Nepal Police, stated that the police will investigate Lamichhane based on all directives from the home ministry. He acknowledged the complexity of determining Lamichhane’s involvement in the cooperative scam, emphasizing that no case is straightforward for the police.

Following the cabinet meeting’s decision to forward the parliamentary probe report to the home ministry for action, instructions have been issued to Nepal Police Headquarters in Naxal for further investigation. The probe committee recommended action against Lamichhane for misappropriating funds, identifying him as a shareholder and managing director of Gorkha Media, despite a lack of documentation confirming his direct involvement in the flow of money from cooperatives during his tenure.