Mahendra Bhote, who was in custody in connection with the Sunsardhan Cooperative fraud case in Kaski, has been released on bail of Rs 500,000. The Kaski District Court bench led by Judge Himalal Belbase ordered his release on bail after securing a commitment to pay Rs 170 million as compensation. (24 Jestha, Pokhara)
Following the bail order, Mahendra Bhote agreed to pay the Rs 170 million compensation and submitted Rs 500,000 as bail bond before being released. The bail hearing was conducted on Friday by Judge Himalal Belbase in the Kaski District Court. Since the office is closed on Saturdays and Sundays, the release process is expected to proceed on Monday.
Mahendra is a leader of the Youth Union aligned with the Nepali Congress Party’s UML faction. He had contested the recent local elections for the chairmanship of Madi Rural Municipality but was defeated. The case filed in the district court demands compensation of Rs 1.113 billion from the accused. Under Section 122 of the Cooperative Act 2074, 19 individuals have been named defendants in the cooperative fraud case.
The police report states that the GB Rai group misappropriated funds by creating fake share members and various companies to withdraw money from Sunsardhan Cooperative. The highest misuse of cooperative funds occurred when the Rai brothers served as chairpersons. From 26 Ashad 2065 to 17 Mangsir 2068 (Bikram Sambat calendar), during the chairmanship of Gyanbahadur Bamjan, a total of Rs 192,84,0000 was found to have been misappropriated.
