After Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) chair and former home minister Rabi Lamichhane was brought to Bhairahawa for investigation on charges of cooperative fraud and organised crime, cooperative fraud victims in Rupandehi staged a protest on Tuesday.

The demonstration took place at Buddha Chowk and near the District Attorney’s Office in the district headquarters of Bhairahawa, with victims demanding the return of their deposited funds.

Gathering under the banner of the Supreme Cooperative Victims’ Group, protesters assembled near the entrance of the District Court in Burmeli Tole, chanting slogans such as “Provide justice to cooperative victims,” “No more cooperative fraud,” and “Conduct an impartial investigation into cooperative fraud.”

Over 50 victims participated in the protest, which, according to Cooperative Victims Struggle Committee chair Bijay Nepal, extended from the court entrance to the District Attorney’s Office.

The Rupandehi District Court previously issued arrest warrants for 12 individuals, including Lamichhane and GB Rai, on October 24. The two are accused of misappropriating Rs142.9 million from Supreme Cooperative and diverting it to Gorkha Media Network Pvt Ltd. Investigations indicate Lamichhane had borrowed Rs19.6 million in personal loans from the cooperative.