Chhabilal Joshi, former deputy inspector general of Nepal Police, who is accused of embezzling cooperatives funds, was arrested from Shankhamul, Kathmandu on Sunday evening.

A team of police deployed from Kathmandu Valley Crime Division arrested Joshi at the request of Kaski district police, a source at Nepal police said. The police are reportedly making preparations to send him to Kaski.

The parliamentary special probe panel formed to investigate cooperatives scam implicated Joshi along with Gorkha Media Network chairman GB Rai, the then managing director of the media company Rabi Lamichhane, who is chief of Rastriya Swatantra Party, and Kumar Ramtel, a director of the same company, in embezzlement of cooperatives funds.

Earlier, Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak had directed the Nepal Police to implement the report prepared and submitted by the parliamentary special investigation committee formed to probe the cooperatives scam.

The report recommends investigating four individuals, including Lamichhane, on the four charges- fraud, forgery, organised crime and money laundering. Previously, the report had been forwarded to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Cooperatives, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Industry, as per a Cabinet decision.

The special committee's report made public on Friday suggested that Lamichhane, Gorkha Media's chairman Rai, former DIG of Nepal Police Joshi, and Ramtel be investigated for their alleged involvement in the misappropriation of funds from various cooperatives.

Chapter 8 of the parliamentary committee’s report mentioned that the cooperative fraud case was subject to the Cooperative Act 2017, sections on forgery under the Criminal Code, the Organised Crime Prevention Act 2013, and the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2008.

The seven-member parliamentary committee headed by lawmaker Surya Thapa comprised Sarita Bhusal of CPN-UML, Ishwari Neupane and Badri Pandey of Nepali Congress, Lekhnath Dahal of CPN (Maoist Centre), Shishir Khanal of the Rastriya Swatantra Party and Dhruba Bahadur Pradhan of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party as its members.