Rabi Lamichhane denies all charges, detention hearing begins today
District Judge Pralhad Kumar Yogi released him into the custody of his family and defense lawyers following his statement.
KATHMANDU: Rabi Lamichhane, former Managing Director of Gorkha Media Network Pvt. Ltd., appeared at Rupandehi District Court on Wednesday regarding fraud charges linked to Butwal’s Supreme Cooperative.
District Judge Pralhad Kumar Yogi released him into the custody of his family and defense lawyers following his statement.
During the hearing, which began at 1 PM, Lamichhane denied the allegations, claiming that all financial management responsibilities rested with company chair Gitendra Babu (GB) Rai.
He expressed his willingness to cooperate with the court and requested to be released for today’s detention hearing.
The court permitted him to remain out of custody under the condition of reappearing at 10 AM on Thursday.
The prosecution, led by Senior Government Advocates Somkanta Bhandari and Premraj Paudel, will present their arguments, while the defense includes Senior Advocates Sushil Panta and Surendra Thapa.
The District Government Attorney’s Office has filed supplementary charges against 22 individuals in connection with the Supreme Cooperative fraud case, demanding a total recovery of Rs 555.9 million.
Of this, Rs 109.9 million is claimed from Lamichhane, GB Rai, and former vice-chair Chhabilal Joshi.
Earlier, fraud charges against 28 individuals were filed on April 14, with additional evidence and damages added in this phase.
Notably, Lamichhane was previously released on bail in fraud cases involving Surya Darshan Cooperative (Rs 6.5 million) and Swarnalakshmi Cooperative (Rs 6 million).
