The Kathmandu District Court has remanded Lila Ballabh Adhikari, a member of the Koshi Provincial Assembly from CPN-UML who was arrested in connection with human trafficking, to custody for two days.
According to the court’s information officer Melis Baskota, a bench of Judge Khimananda Bhusal on Sunday afternoon granted the police permission to keep Adhikari in custody for two days to investigate the charges against him.
A team from District Police Range, Kathmandu, had presented him in the court seeking his remand.
Adhikari was arrested from his home in Biratnagar and brought to Kathmandu earlier on Sunday.
Adhikari is accused of trying to smuggle people into Japan illegally by abusing his office.
He had flown to Japan without seeking permission from the Koshi Cabinet and the federal government.
But the incident came to light after Japan’s immigration authorities deported Adhikari and three others -- 36-year-old Dawa Sherpa of Khotang, Janak Rai of Khotang, and 22-year-old Kanchan Devkota of Rasuwa -- who had traveled to Japan with him.
Adhikari resigned as minister on moral grounds after his deportation.
The three people deported by Japan are now in police custody. Police have also arrested Jugal Rijal, Bir Bahadur Sunuwar and Mahesh Pandey on the same charges based on their statements.
The arrested have told the police that they had paid Rs 1 and 1.3 million to go to Japan.
The police also recovered fake identity cards of the ministry from two of the deportees. The identity cards bear the signature of the then minister Adhikari as acting office chief.
