Kaski District Court on Wednesday remanded two accused in a fraud related to the Pokhara-based Suryadarshan Savings and Credit Cooperatives in judicial custody.

A single bench of Judge Basanta Jung Thapa issued the order to send former board member Shiva Bahadur Gurung alias Mahendra Bhote and member Bhabishwar Aryal in custody until a final verdict.

Gurung, who is also the deputy general secretary of the National Youth Federation, a youth wing of the CPN-UML, and Aryal appeared before the court on Tuesday while the law enforcement agency was preparing to issue a diffusion notice.

Judge Thapa refused to release the duo on bail and remanded them to custody after the conclusion of the detention hearing on Wednesday.

On August 31, the Kaski court issued arrest warrants against 19 people including Gitendra Babu (GB) Rai, former chair of the cooperatives on the charge of embezzling Rs1.35 billion of 18,700 depositors.

Cooperatives’ vice-chair Kailash Kumar Darlami and treasurer Kumar Ramtel are under judicial custody at Kaski prison.

A total of 15 people including Rai, also the chairperson of Gorkha Media Network that runs Galaxy 4K Television, are at large.