The Rupandehi District Court has granted permission to investigate Rastriya Swatantra Party chair Rabi Lamichhane, who is also former managing director of Gorkha Media Network Pvt Ltd, and Chhabilal Joshi, vice-chair of the media company, in connection with an organised crime case. The court on Thursday also allowed police to arrest 12 other individuals involved in the case, according to sources.

Judge Shyam Prasad Shrestha’s bench approved the arrest and investigation of Lamichhane, Joshi, and others in connection with a large-scale cooperative fraud. Lamichhane and Joshi, who were initially held in Pokhara police custody, have been under investigation for their involvement in misappropriating funds from Supreme Savings and Credit Cooperative in Butwal.

Meanwhile, the district court in Kaski has extended the custody of Lamichhane and Joshi for seven days to facilitate further investigation. Former DIG Joshi, who was brought to Rupandehi for a 13-hour interrogation, has been sent back to Pokhara, while preparations are underway to bring Lamichhane to Rupandehi on Friday.

Authorities are probing into the illegal transfer of Rs25 million under Joshi’s name and Rs20 million under RSP chair Lamichhane’s name from Supreme Cooperative to Gorkha Media Network. Additionally, an investigation report by a special parliamentary committee led by lawmaker Surya Thapa revealed that Rs142.9 million was transferred unlawfully from the Butwal-based Supreme Cooperative to the accounts of the media company, co-founded by Lamichhane and GB Rai, among others.

Out of the Rs1.07 billion deposited by 10,391 account holders in Supreme Cooperative, Rs780 million was found to have been misappropriated. Following initial investigations, Rupandehi police had already filed a case against 28 individuals, including the cooperative’s chairman, Om Prakash Gurung, who is in custody, while other key figures such as Gitendra Babu (GB) Rai, Bhupendra Babu Rai, and manager Sagar KC remain at large. Several others have been released on bail.