In the Surya Darshan Cooperative fraud case, the detention hearing is ongoing at the Kaski District Court, with the defense arguments starting on Friday.
Today, the complainants will present the remaining arguments, after which their lawyers will continue presenting the case. Then, the lawyers of the seven detained defendants will argue on their behalf, one after another.
Earlier, arguments were made on behalf of the government attorney’s office on Tuesday and Wednesday, while on Thursday, arguments were presented by the complainants. Six lawyers represented 121 complainants during the arguments.
According to Court Officer Guru Prasad Acharya, two dozen lawyers had submitted power of attorney to argue on behalf of the complainants, and six of them argued on Thursday until office hours ended. After their arguments, the complainants stated that they had finished their arguments. However, one or two of the complainants’ lawyers requested to argue as well, prompting Judge Nitij Rai to grant them some time on Friday for their arguments. After that, the defendants’ lawyers will start presenting their arguments, as per Acharya.
On behalf of the complainants on Thursday, Senior Advocate Dr. Surendra Bhandari, Dinesh Tripathi, and advocates Yubraj Parajuli, Ramchandra Gautam, Bibi Bista, and Hari Kandel argued. During the proceedings, they presented documents related to the case, claiming that all seven individuals involved should be considered guilty, and requested that they be sent to detention for further investigation, as per the law.
Once the arguments of both the complainants and defendants are concluded, the government attorney’s office will present a rebuttal. Afterward, the judge will decide whether to remand the defendants to prison for further investigation or release them on bail.
Earlier, after the Kaski District Government Attorney’s Office filed the chargesheet on 7th Poush, the statement hearings started on 8th Poush and have continued since Tuesday.
Among the 44 individuals charged, currently, Rabi Lamichhane, the president of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and the former operator and managing director of the Gorkha Media Network; Chhabilal Joshi, the former operator and shareholder of the Gorkha Media Network and former DIG; Leela Pachai, a partner and associate of GB Rai; Ram Bahadur Khanal, operator, and shareholder of Nature Herbs International Pvt. Ltd.; Meena Gurung, former vice-president of Surya Darshan Cooperative; Aarati Gurung, treasurer of the cooperative; and Krishna Bahadur Gurung, a director of the cooperative are currently in custody at the Kaski District Police Office.
Among the seven, Lamichhane, Joshi, and Khanal have been charged with cooperative fraud, organized crime, and money laundering, while Pachhai faces charges of cooperative fraud, organized crime, money laundering, and violations of the Nepal Rastra Bank Act 2058. The other three are charged with defrauding cooperative funds.
