The Kathmandu District Court has granted permission to keep former minister and Nepali Congress leader Deepak Khadka in custody for seven days for investigation into a money laundering case.

Court information officer Deepak Shrestha said the court authorised the seven-day remand following a request from investigators.

Khadka, who was arrested by police on Sunday morning, was produced before the Kathmandu District Court later in the evening for an extension of custody.

Police detained him on the basis of an urgent arrest warrant as part of an ongoing investigation led by the Department of Money Laundering Investigation, with support from the Central Investigation Bureau.

The case is linked to images and videos that surfaced after the September 9 unrest, showing burnt cash at Khadka’s residence when his house was set on fire during the Gen Z-led protests. Authorities initiated a detailed probe after forensic tests confirmed that the burnt fragments were genuine banknotes.

Khadka had served as minister for energy, water resources and irrigation from the Nepali Congress.

On the same day, another Congress leader and former home minister Ramesh Lekhak was also presented before the court for a remand hearing, while CPN-UML chair KP Sharma Oli was produced virtually for a similar hearing.