A photograph of a luxury vehicle used by Rastriya Swatantra Party senior leader Balendra Shah, widely known as Balen, a candidate from Jhapa–5, has gone viral on social media since Thursday evening.

The image shows Shah travelling in a black Land Rover Defender worth more than Rs40 million, triggering debate online over the vehicle’s ownership. Shah has been using the same vehicle for several days and was also seen travelling in it when he went to Janakpur for an election campaign programme last Sunday.

According to sources at the Department of Transport Management, the vehicle is registered in the name of Trimurti Industries Pvt Ltd company based in ward 15 of Tilottama Municipality, Rupandehi. One of the company’s investors is Kamal Malpani.

Malpani also owns Yashoda Foods Pvt Ltd and Shreeram Tobacco Pvt Ltd in Butwal Sub-metropolitan City. In a brief conversation with the Post, Malpani said his company had provided the vehicle to Shah. “Yes, we provided the vehicle,” he said, declining to specify the duration for which it was given.