The Department of Prison Management has transferred Deepak Bhatta from Nakkhu prison in Lalitpur to Sindhupalchok prison.

The Nakkhu prison administration moved Bhatta to Sindhupalchok on Saturday evening after receiving a letter from the department earlier that day.

Nakkhu prison chief officer Dirgha Raj Upadhyay confirmed the transfer. “Transfers are also part of the regular process. We received a letter from the department and sent him there,” Upadhyay said.

Bhatta faces charges of money laundering, corruption, and banking offences. Cases involving him are pending at the High Court in Patan and the Special Court in Kathmandu. He had been held at Nakkhu after the courts ordered that he remain in custody pending trial following preliminary hearings.

The transfer letter describes Bhatta’s conduct in prison as “normal”.

According to a Department of Prison Management official, prisoners are generally transferred at their own request. “Some ask to be moved closer to home so that family visits are easier, while others seek a transfer because they are having difficulty staying at a particular prison,” the official said. “It is rare for a transfer to be ordered directly from higher authorities.”

Prisoners may also be transferred when security concerns arise. In 2018, gangster Sameer Man Basnet was moved to Mustang prison at the request of the police after authorities concluded that he was operating from inside the prison.

The department official said Bhatta’s transfer did not appear to be a routine move.

“The transfer is not normal. Information may have reached higher authorities that he was trying to exert influence from Nakkhu prison, and he may have been moved so that it would be more difficult for him to maintain contacts and meet people,” the official said.

The transfer also comes after police detained former chief justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana for 12 hours at the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office, citing security concerns.

Government officials at the Prime Minister’s Office, however, have accused Rana of trying to influence judicial proceedings. According to those officials, Rana had also sought to facilitate Bhatta.

Police subsequently questioned several people close to Rana, according to sources.

Home ministry officials say the decision to transfer Bhatta to Sindhupalchok was taken after those developments.