Krishna Arrested for Filing Complaint Against Ravi in Suryadarsan Cooperative Scam, Suspected Mastermind in Dhanush Cooperative Fraud

March 22, Pokhara – Krishna Prasad Jaisi, who had filed a complaint against G.V. Rai and Rastriya Swatantra Party Chairman Ravi Lamichhane in the Suryadarsan Cooperative scam, has now been arrested in connection with another cooperative fraud case.

Jaisi, known for advocating on behalf of the victims of the Suryadarsan Cooperative from protests to court proceedings, is identified as the chief architect in the Pokhara-based Dhanush Savings and Credit Cooperative scam.

His arrest follows a complaint submitted by the Gandaki Province Cooperative Registrar’s Office to the Kaski District Police Office. The complaint cites a financial analyst’s report by Nirmal Gautam, which exposes misappropriation amounting to NPR 125.6 million and requests further investigation.

Police confirmed Jaisi’s arrest and stated that arrest warrants have been issued for four others. Preliminary investigation conducted in mid-January 2025 submitted a report indicating embezzlement of NPR 191.8 million to the Registrar’s Office.

Despite repeated directives from the Registrar’s Office, only NPR 60 million has been recovered; NPR 125.6 million remains unrecovered, prompting the Registrar to request police investigation on March 24.

Formed by merging the former Saino and Dhanush cooperatives, Dhanush Savings and Credit Cooperative is managed by a newly established committee overseeing operations in former Pokhara-9 and Annapurna Rural Municipality’s Naudanda area.

According to the report, misappropriation predominantly involves key officials from the former Saino cooperative, including Chairman Gamrej Singh Gurung, his wife Kashimaya Gurung, daughter Sirjana Gurung, and Asim Baral, Director of AVS Engineering Consultancy and interim committee chair, with embezzlement reported up to NPR 30 million.

Additionally, the two managers of the Dhanush cooperative, Biraj Subedi and Jagat Paudel, are cited for embezzling NPR 22.5 million and NPR 12.5 million respectively. Meanwhile, Krishna Prasad Jaisi, who filed the complaint against Ravi Lamichhane in the Suryadarsan scam, is also implicated for creating fake accounts in his role as a loan subcommittee officer and embezzling NPR 8.2 million.

All these individuals have been identified as the chief masterminds behind the embezzlement, with the Provincial Cooperative Registrar’s Office recommending further investigation into other officials and board members.

In the Suryadarsan Cooperative scam in Pokhara, Ravi Lamichhane was first arrested based on a complaint filed by Jaisi. The initial case involved 19 suspects, including G.V. Rai, while a subsequent case named 51 defendants, including Lamichhane.

Charges filed included cooperative fraud, money laundering, and organized crime, seeking NPR 1.51 billion in damages. After his arrest in this case, Lamichhane was released on bail of NPR 6.5 million after 84 days in custody.

Krishna Prasad Jaisi was among the leaders of the victim group of the Suryadarsan cooperative in Pokhara. Prior to the election campaign on February 21 this year, during which Ravi had publicly expressed difficulties paying his child’s school fees after losing money in the cooperative, Jaisi had gained attention by showing school bills to Raswapa candidate Bina Gurung.