Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) chair and former home minister, Rabi Lamichhane, has been sent to police custody by the Kathmandu District Court in connection with the Swarnalakshmi Cooperative fraud case. The court made the decision as, despite recording his statement, the detention hearing remained incomplete.

Judge Madhav Prasad Adhikari’s bench issued the order, according to court information officer Ramu Sharma. “The statement was completed, but the detention hearing and final orders are yet to be made, so police custody was ordered,” Sharma said.

Lamichhane’s legal advisor, Yagyamani Neupane, revealed that an appeal to conduct the detention hearing on Sunday was denied due to time constraints. “Although we proposed conducting the hearing, the judge cited a lack of time and ordered police custody instead,” Neupane stated.

Lamichhane appeared in court on Sunday following a previous bail release in the Pokhara-based Suryadarshan Cooperative fraud case by the Kaski District Court on Thursday. He was released after furnishing a bail amount of Rs6.5 million, ending 84 days of police custody in Pokhara.

Lamichhane also faces allegations of fraud in cases linked to Butwal’s Supreme Cooperative, Chitwan’s Sahara Cooperative, and Parsa’s Sano Paila Cooperative. Further legal proceedings are underway in the respective districts as well.