A fraud case has been filed against 26 individuals, including Anjila Koirala, wife of Rishikesh Pokharel, chair of the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives, at the Morang District Court on Friday.

They have been charged for alleged financial irregularities in the Uma Gauri Agricultural Cooperative located in Dhanpalthan Rural Municipality-3.

The accused include Shambhu Prasad Rauniyar, the cooperative’s chairperson of Dhanpalthan-4; Vice Chairperson Laxman Sah of Katahari Rural Municipality-2; Secretary Alam Ansari Miya of Dhanpalthan-4; and Treasurer Shambhu Prasad Singh, also of Dhanpalthan-4.

Additionally, board members Amod Mandal of Jahada Rural Municipality-4, Roshan Rajbanshi of Dhanpalthan-4, and Jitman Thakur of Dhanpalthan-2 have been charged. Audit committee coordinator Vijay Kumar Yadav, along with members Surendra Kumar Rajbanshi and Ashok Kumar Bishwas, are also named as defendants under Section 122 of the Cooperative Act, 2017.

Koirala, a former board member, resigned on January 19, 2022, following a financial crisis in the cooperative. A teacher by profession, she had been listed as a member when the cooperative approved microfinance loans.

Investigations reveal the cooperative borrowed Rs115.6 million from banks and financial institutions, while its balance sheet showed Rs178.7 million in loans and investments against a total capital of Rs184 million.

Pokharel reportedly promoted his wife in the cooperative’s leadership, which had been established by party workers. Authorities suspect significant financial mismanagement, with serious allegations of fraudulent activities against the accused.

The fraud case has been filed against them as opposition parties have demanded a probe against PAC chair Pokharel as well, claiming that he was also indirectly involved in the embezzlement of cooperative deposits.