Nepal Police’s Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) has recommended prosecution of four, including Rahul Mahara, son of former Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara, in the case involving smuggling of nine kilograms of gold concealed in e-cigarettes (vapes) in December last year.

Even though the police inquired from the former Speaker in the case, he has not been recommended for prosecution, police said.

The other three persons recommended for prosecution include Dawa Tsering, a Belgian citizen of Tibetan dissent, Lokendra Bahadur Paudel, driver of the alleged Chinese smuggler Daojin Wang, who is also allegedly a key architect in another case of 60 kg gold smuggling, and Nima Gurung, for allegedly being involved in smuggling of gold in vapes.

Six Chinese nationals, allegedly involved in the smuggling, will be investigated once they are arrested, according to the police.

Police submitted its investigation report to the District Attorney Office, Kathmandu on Friday.

“We have recommended the prosecution of four people on charges of organised crime and the violation of the Customs Act,” said Superintendent of Police Nabaraj Adhikari, spokesperson for the CIB. Among those recommended for prosecution, Rahul Mahara, Tsering and Paudel were arrested by the police while Gurung has been on the run.

On December 25 last year, the airport customs office seized electronic cigarettes, parts of which were stolen from the warehouse of the customs office, prompting a CIB investigation. Police said they later found that the gold had been concealed inside those cigarettes.

During their investigation the police unearthed a close contact between the Mahara duo and a Chinese national who was smuggling gold concealed inside electronic cigarettes.

Last week, police had inquired with senior Mahara, who is also a vice-chair of ruling party CPN (Maoist Centre), about the smuggling of gold after it was found that he had contacts with Chinese smugglers. Like in the case of former prime ministers Madhav Kumar Nepal and Baburam Bhattarai in connection with the Lalita Niwas land grab scam, senior Mahara was not interrogated in the presence of the government attorney.

A senior police officer said that the former Speaker was just inquired as it was not found necessary to interrogate him in the presence of the government attorney.

As per section 16 of the National Criminal Procedure (Code) Act, 2017, the investigating authority may take a deposition (statement of potential offender) from the accused in relation to any offence in the presence of the government attorney.

In taking deposition, the government attorney shall have the right to ask questions with relation to the offence. But no deposition was taken from the former Speaker.

“If somebody is expected to be a defendant in an offence, deposition of such a person is taken. Otherwise, the statement is taken as the government’s witness,” an official of the District Attorney Office, Kathmandu previously told the Post when asked about the omission of the former prime minister duo from prosecution in the Lalita Niwas scam.