CPN (Maoist Centre) Vice-Chair and former Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara has been brought to Kathmandu for investigation into his alleged involvement in a gold smuggling case.

Mahara, who was arrested earlier in the day from Pakadi of Kapilvastu district, was brought to the Capital from the Bhairahawa airport and was immediately taken to the Central Investigation Bureau’s (CIB) office in Lazimpat.

He was travelling to Rolpa via Bhairahawa, said Sudarshan Baral, chairman of Lumbini Province chapter of the ruling party.

CIB Spokesperson Hobindra Bogati said that a report on the case against the former Speaker will be prepared and forwarded to the Attorney General’s Office later today.

Mahara will be produced at the court to extend his remand, Bogati added.

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane on Sunday had ordered police to implement a report of the inquiry commission on large-scale gold smuggling that pointed out Mahara’s ‘involvement’ in the case.

The commission headed by Dilli Raj Acharya, a former High Court chief judge, submitted its report on Thursday accusing the CIB of making deliberate efforts not to investigate Mahara, then director general of the Department of Immigration Jhalak Ram Adhikari, and former Nepal Police chief and UML leader Sarbendra Khanal in the gold scam.

After receiving the report, Home Minister Lamichhane submitted it to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal following which the Cabinet on Friday had decided to implement the recommendations of the inquiry commission.

The commission submitted its report after studying the lapses in police investigation into the smuggling of 60kg of gold, which was hidden inside motorcycle brake shoes last year, and 9kg of gold concealed inside electronic cigarettes in December 2022.

The District Attorney’s Office filed a case against Rahul, son of former Speaker Mahara, in October last year for his suspected role in smuggling 9 kg of gold.

The CIB had taken Rahul into police custody on August 30 last year for investigation. As per a government report, it was established that the father-son duo had been in regular contact with the Chinese gold smugglers, engaging in 256 phone conversations.

Previously, police had inquired with senior Mahara, who is also a vice-chair of the ruling CPN (Maoist Centre), about the smuggling of gold after he was found to be in constant touch with Chinese smugglers. Despite suspicion, police didn’t record the statement of senior Mahara in the presence of the government attorney as required by the law.