The Kaski District Court has extended the custody of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) chair and former deputy prime minister Rabi Lamichhane by four more days for further investigation. Judge Himalal Belbase presided over the decision on Tuesday, which also concerned Chhabilal Joshi, Lila Pachaai, Ram Bahadur Khanal, and Krishna Bahadur Gurung.

They remain in Kaski police custody as part of an organised cooperative fraud and money laundering investigation. Joshi, arrested on September 22, has now had his custody extended for the ninth time, while Lamichhane, detained on October 18, faces his eighth extension.

This latest decision marks the final allowable remand under the 90-day investigative provision based on Joshi’s initial arrest date.

On Monday, Kaski District Police submitted its investigation report on the Suryadarshan Cooperative fraud case to the District Government Attorney’s Office. During Tuesday’s proceedings, government attorneys and Lamichhane’s legal representatives debated the necessity of another custody extension.

The government attorneys argued for additional time to analyse the report and determine charges and parties to prosecute. Lamichhane’s legal counsel countered that further detention was unnecessary since the investigation report was already complete.