Kathmandu: Political actors and members of civil society have expressed concerns about the excesses and ‘abuses’ inflicted on Rabi Lamichhane in police custody. Lamichhane was arrested on October 18 on charge of embezzling the cooperatives funds and was taken to Pokhara (Kaski). He has been moved out to different districts–Rupandehi, Kathmandu, Chitwan among others–to record his statements for the investigation.
Lamichhane was the home minister in two previous coalition governments—led by UML and Maoist Center in 2022 and again by Maoist Center and CPN-UML in 2024. Though the alleged involvement of the former home minister in the cooperatives funds scam was reported way back, both CPN-UML and Maoist Center defended Lamichhane and had made Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) a part of the coalitions they led by offering Lamichhane the portfolio of Home Ministry.
None of the current charges against him are related to abuse of power and irregularities during his two terms as the Home Minister. They date back to the time when Lamichhane was a television show presenter and was associated with Galaxy 4K TV channel which was run by Gorkha Media Network Pvt Ltd of which Lamichhane was a managing director with 15 percent share, which he has been claiming to be ‘sweat shares’.
Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), the party that Lamichhane founded in 2022 on the eve of the general elections, has said that Lamichhane’s arrest is an act of political vendetta by Nepali Congress and CPN-UML.
Composed of members who largely come from non-political backgrounds, RSP emerged as the fourth largest force, with 21 seats in federal house of parliament, within a couple of months of campaigns. By virtue of its significant number of seats, RSP appeared to be a influential political force in the coalition governments formed after the 2022 elections.
Arrested to investigate his involvement in cooperatives frauds, other cases–notably that of money laundering and organized crime–have also been activated during the investigation process, the move which the RSP says is meant to harass and torture Lamichhane.
RSP cadres have been protesting against what they call ‘politically motivated prosecution’ against Lamichhane.
On Thursday Lamichhane was abruptly transferred from custody in Chitwan to Pokhara during the middle of the night, allegedly without prior notice, opportunity of legal consultation and adequate rest, RSP said, calling on National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and international rights organizations to intervene, citing violations of Nepal’s constitutional protections and international human rights commitments, including the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984). Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has accused Nepal Police of attempting to harass and subject Lamichhane to inhumane treatment.
Lamichhane’s personal diary, maintained during his detention, is also said to have been confiscated by police officers.
Meanwhile, political leaders as well as commentators have suspected foul play in what appears like a ‘never-ending’ custody of Lamichhane and respect the human rights of Lamichhane. Last week, Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal leader and former foreign minister Kamal Thapa said that the government is unnecessarily prolonging the trial against Lamichhane. “Prolonging the investigation unnecessarily, adding new allegations and cases, and inflicting a mental torture on him [Lamichhane] raises the question on the intention of the government,” said Thapa.
Vijay Kumar Pandey, an influential media personality, while mentioning Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in his X (Twitter) message on Friday, raised the matter of Lamichhane being whisked away in the middle of the night. “The court has not declared him guilty. Legal process is underway,” he mentioned, suggesting that authorities should respect the human rights of Lamichhane.
“The way the police and state mechanisms are treating Lamichhane without showing minimum humanity, this is objectionable,” wrote Sharad Raj Pathak, General-Secretary of Rastriya Prajatantra Party.
On Friday, former Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai, who met Rabi Lamichhane in custody in Pokhara, said the way the government authorities have been giving him one after another trouble is unjust and unnatural. “Which is why I came to meet him,” Bhattarai said. “I sense some vendetta on actions against him.” He further said that three parties in power for the last thirty years, Congress, UML and Maoist Center, have contributed to the problems related to cooperatives. The prolonged trial against Lamichhane could be a ploy of the ruling parties to divert people’s attention from real cooperative scams in which thousands of poor people have lost their hard-earned money, Bhattarai mentioned.
“It has been quite some time since Ravi Lamichhane has been in custody facing various charges. Multiple courts are involved in the pretrial process, and he has been transferred between locations, even during the night,” noted scholar Dr Bipin Adhikari wrote. “The trend is worrisome.” Lamichhane is not just a party president, but also an opposition leader and former home minister, he further wrote. “The government must urgently clarify his current status and outline the future legal procedures. Beyond concerns about his human rights, the rule of law itself must not be at risk.”
Similarly, constitutional lawyer Dr Bhimarjun Acharya has called the act of transferring Lamichhane to Pokhara custody in the middle of the night ‘the mockery of rule of law.’
Senior journalist Sanjeev Satgainya wrote on his post: “The so-called mainstream media of Nepal have declared him [Lamichhane] criminal much before the court verdict and have been reporting about him accordingly, which means media has also failed on its basic duty.”
[Also read: Rabi Lamichhane has been subjected to inhumane treatment as part of an apparent state vendetta, says RSP]
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