Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) chair and former home minister Rabi Lamichhane underwent a four-hour interrogation at the Parsa District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday for investigation into his alleged involvement in the cooperative fraud, organised crime, and money laundering tied to the Sanopaila Savings and Credit Cooperative.

Chief Public Prosecutor Bhola Nath Niraula confirmed that 54 questions were posed to Lamichhane during the statement recording. “The statement has concluded,” said Niraula. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, an official of the attorney's office said Lamichhane confessed to some allegations during the interrogation.

Following the session, Lamichhane was transferred to the District Police Office. Meanwhile, RSP leaders and supporters staged protests in Birgunj, demanding his release.

Lamichhane has been in police custody since October 18, following his arrest from his party's central office in Kathmandu. He was taken to Pokhara on the same evening and has been spending time in custody since then. The former home minister was transported to Birgunj on Monday evening for further investigation into allegations of misappropriation of approximately Rs85.8 million from the cooperative while serving as managing director of Gorkha Media Network.

In a related case, former deputy inspector general Chhabilal Joshi and Ram Bahadur Khanal, also linked to the misappropriation, recorded their statements earlier and were returned to Pokhara on Tuesday morning.

Reports indicate that funds amounting to Rs93.6 million were unlawfully distributed as loans beyond the cooperative's jurisdiction. Further, evidence shows over Rs8.58 million was siphoned off from Sanopaila Cooperative to Gorkha Media Network between April 2021 and August 2022.

Police have sought additional time to investigate the involvement of 11 other individuals, including cooperative officials who remain at large. Meanwhile, two accused individuals, former vice-chair Neha Paudel and employee Radhechandra Yadav, were released on bail of Rs11 million and Rs3.5 million, respectively.