Victims of the Surya Darshan Savings and Credit Cooperative waved black flags at Rastriya Swatantra Party Chairman Rabi Lamichhane, who is also former home minister, in Pokhara on Tuesday. Lamichhane was in Pokhara to attend his party’s provincial meeting at the Galaxy Banquet in Birauta.

Outside the event, protesters displayed placards with slogans against Lamichhane, accusing politicians of protecting key suspects of the massive cooperative fraud involving dozens of cooperatives and billions of rupees. They demanded the arrest of GB Rai, Lamichhane’s former boss and the prime suspect in a major cooperatives fraud, the return of their savings, and legal actions against the guilty. They also called on Lamichhane to repay the money he allegedly misappropriated while serving as the managing director at Rai’s Gorkha Media Network.

A large number of security personnel from the Nepal Police and Armed Police Force were deployed at the venue due to anticipated protests. Lamichhane was escorted to the event venue, which is around three kilometers from the Pokhara Airport, under heavy security. Lamichhane arrived at the venue at around 1pm.

The protesters, most of them victims from the Surya Darshan Savings and Credit Cooperatives, had hoped that Lamichhane would come out of his vehicle and directly address them. But he entered the venue without exiting his vehicle.

Tuesday’s visit marked Lamichhane’s return to Pokhara after nine months, when he was attacked with a corncob at Amarsingh Chaur in December last year.

Infuriated by the black flag protest, Lamichhane lambasted the protesters while speaking to his party members. He accused the protesters of being manipulated by external influences. “My support is always with those fighting for the rights of the victims. But you have made a mistake by labelling an innocent man as a culprit. Rabi Lamichhane would be at the forefront for justice if you weren’t accusing the innocent man. What kind of struggle committee are you running?” said Lamichhane.

Hundreds of depositors from Pokhara-based Surya Darshan Savings and Credit Cooperative have been protesting for the past several months demanding return of their defrauded savings.

On October 5 last year, police filed a fraud case at Kaski District Court against Gitendra Babu (GB) Rai, chairman of the Gorkha Media Network, and 18 other former and current directors and employees of the credit cooperatives, accusing them of embezzling over Rs1.1 billion.

During the initial investigation, the roles of former home minister Lamichhane and Dipesh Pun, son of former Vice President Nanda Bahadur Pun, were flagged as suspects. To advance the investigations, Kiran Bajracharya, then chief of the Central Investigation Bureau of the Nepal Police, deployed a team led by inspectors.

An Interpol diffusion notice for Rai was issued on January 23 as he remains at large and is believed to be abroad.

Thousands of victims of cooperatives fraud have been protesting in various parts of the country for months as scores of cooperatives have failed to return depositors’ money.

As the cooperative scam has escalated into a national crisis, a special parliamentary inquiry committee has been investigating the matter for over three months.

Former ministers and lawmakers including RSP chair Lamichhane and chiefs of several cooperatives are under investigation.

Cooperative victim struggles to make ends meet

Sushana KC showed an incision scar from heart valve replacement surgery she underwent a few years ago. The 50-year-old, who sells Chatpate (a crunchy mix of puffed rice, chilli, diced tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and peas among other things) from a mobile cart near Phewa City Hospital in Pokhara, is anxious about her health and needs immediate treatment for her heart condition.

KC saved her hard-earned money as a street vendor at Surya Darshan Savings and Credit Co-operative, hoping it would support her treatment. “How long can a heart patient like me push a cart to earn a living? I am uncertain whether I will ever be able to get back the money I saved,” lamented KC, who underwent a surgery to replace two heart valves in 2009. She has to take medicines regularly and visit hospital every month or so for her heart check-ups.

KC deposited a total of Rs 228,000 at Surya Darshan Savings and Credit Co-operative. “That is a significant amount for someone like me. I can’t forget the money I earned by pushing a cart on the streets,” said KC.

KC grew up in Guwahati of Assam, India. Lal Bahadur Khatri of Tarakhola in Baglung brought her to Nepal as his second wife 32 years ago. They had a son and a daughter, but divorced in 2012 due to marital issues. With her divorce settlement, she bought a ‘mobile cart’ and started selling boiled eggs, grilled corn, and chatpate to eke out a living.

KC initially saved Rs50,000 at Surya Darshan Savings and Credit Cooperative, which was located at Sabhagrihachowk. Over time, she saved regularly and whenever as needed. She had a total of Rs112,000 in the cooperative, before it shifted to its own building at Nala. She later deposited an additional Rs100,000.

“My well wishers, mainly my daughter, suggested that I should not save money in the cooperative for security reasons. But I convinced her that Surya Darshan was different because it had its own building and paid interest regularly. I was unaware that the cooperative was already in trouble,” said KC.

She recounted how she rushed to the cooperative’s office as soon as she heard rumours of its impending closure. “By the time I got there, it was already in trouble. The depositors could not withdraw their money. They called me a few times to collect my savings, but every time I waited in line for hours and returned empty-handed,” she added.

While some depositors managed to get up to Rs10,000, KC did not get even a rupee.

KC visited the office of Surya Darshan Savings and Credit Co-operative multiple times, and even went to Kathmandu to join protest demonstrations. “How long do we have to keep protesting, staging sit-ins and demonstrations? Our problem should be addressed. Otherwise, cooperative victims across the country will start picketing the leaders’ homes and seize them,” KC vented her ire.