Chitwan- An order has been issued to send Rastriya Swatantra Party President Rabi Lamichhane, who is accused of fraud in the Sahara Multipurpose Cooperative, to judicial custody.

The bench of District Judge Dayaram Dhakal has handed Lamichhane over to security personnel and sent him to the District Police Office as the hearing was not completed.

After the final hearing, an order will be issued either to send Lamichhane to custody, release him on bail, or release him on a regular date.

District Attorney Rabi Neupane and Assistant Attorney Buddha Bahadur Thapa will argue on behalf of the government. On the other hand, 10 legal practitioners will argue on behalf of the defendant in the case.

A case was registered against Lamichhane and 15 others, including Ram Bahadur Khanal, Rabina Rimal, Bishal Tamang, Navin Achhami, Kabita Tamang, Deepak Lama, Asraf Ali Siddiqui, Bhagwati Bamjan, Laxmi Prasad Poudel, Vigyan Rai, Netrapani Bastola, Shiv Bahadur Gurung and Pragati Shrestha, on charges of embezzling funds from Sahara Multipurpose Cooperative.

Earlier, Lamichhane has been released on bail by the Kaski, Rupandehi and Kathmandu District Courts in the case of embezzlement of the cooperative’s funds.