Nepal’s former Speaker Krishna Mahara arrested in gold smuggling case

Kathmandu [Nepal], March 18 (ANI): Nepal’s former speaker of the Lower House of Parliament, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, has been arrested in connection with a gold smuggling case, police said on Monday.

According to police, Mahara, who is the vice-president of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) was arrested from Kapilvastu district and brought to Kathmandu by flight this morning.

“He (Krishna Bahadur Mahara) has been arrested from Kapilvastu and brought to Kathmandu. He will be in custody with the permission of the court,” Basanta Kunwar, IGP of Nepal Police, confirmed over the phone.

According to the police, Mahara will be presented in court for an extension of custody.

The newly appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane had on Sunday ordered the police to implement a report of the inquiry commission on large-scale gold smuggling that pointed out Mahara’s ‘involvement’ in the case according to the Kathmandu Post.

Last week, the inquiry commission headed by Dilli Raj Acharya, a former High Court chief judge, submitted its report to the home minister, which was later sent to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal

The inquiry commission report had allegedly pointed out that the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) had deliberately attempted to let Mahara go off the hooks of investigators along with others.

A cabinet meeting held late on Thursday decided to implement the suggestions and report of the commission thoroughly.

The commission was tasked with investigating lapses in the police investigation into the smuggling of 61 kg of gold in 2023 and 9 kg of gold concealed inside electronic cigarettes in 2022.

Rahul Mahara, son of Krishna Mahara, is in judicial custody after the District Attorney’s Office filed the case against him last year in connection with the 9 kg gold smuggling attempt.

Previously, the police had inquired with Krishna Mahara after he was found to be in constant touch with Chinese smugglers. However, he was never interrogated in the case.

Mahara is the vice-president of the CPN-MC, the party headed by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.