Chitwan: A case has been registered at the Chitwan District Court against 15 individuals, including former Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane, on charges of embezzling funds from Sahara Chitwan Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited.

According to court information officer Amrit Bishwakarma, the defendants include Lamichhane, Chhabilal Joshi, Ram Bahadur Khanal, Rabina Rimal, Bishal Gurung, and others. In addition, six organizations, including Gorkha Media Pvt. Ltd. and Sahara Savings, have also been named in the case.

This is a supplementary charge, as an earlier case was filed three months ago against 17 individuals, though Lamichhane’s name was not included at that time. The newly registered case now includes 15 defendants and names five companies that allegedly received funds from Sahara Cooperative:

-Gorkha Media Network Pvt. Ltd.
-Nature Hub International Pvt. Ltd.
-JB Group of Companies
-Spring Wood Estate Housing Pvt. Ltd.
-Nature Nest Pvt. Ltd.

Previously, 17 individuals were charged in the Chitwan District Court, including JB Rai, Kumar Ramtel, Sagar KC, and Bir Bahadur Ranabhat. The total amount embezzled from Sahara Chitwan Multipurpose Cooperative Society is estimated at Rs 523.285 million.

So far, five individuals, including Lamichhane, Ram Bahadur Khanal, Chhabilal Joshi, Kumar Ramtel, and Mahendra Bhote (alias Shiva Bahadur Gurung), have appeared before the court. The District Government Attorney’s Office in Chitwan officially filed the supplementary charge today.