On June 19, a letter arrived by post at the District Police Office, Dang. The letter was a complaint filed against Met Mani Chaudhary, the deputy general secretary of the CPN (Unified Socialist) and a House of Representatives member elected from Dang Constituency No. 1.
The complaint, sent through the post, alleged a banking offense involving a bounced check. It claimed that a check worth Rs 54 million issued by lawmaker Chaudhary from Everest Bank had bounced, and demanded an investigation against him.
The complainant is Dhat Budha Magar, a contractor who is originally from Rolpa but currently residing in Ghorahi, Dang.
Initially, Budha Magar had personally visited the District Police Office, Dang, to file the complaint, but the police refused to register his complaint. He then sent him complaint by post.
Although Budha Magar filed the complaint, the police have not proceeded with any action. For a complaint sent by post to be processed, the complainant must appear in person for verification. The police said that Budha Magar has not come for verification.
Instead, Budha Magar has now sent another letter through the post, requesting to withdraw the complaint.
Several serious questions arise from this incident: Why did Budha Magar not go to the police office for verification? Why did the police initially refuse to take the complaint? What is the nature of the Rs 54 million transaction between a lawmaker and a contractor? Why do such large transactions occur? These are among the critical questions tied to this case.
First, let’s examine why the police initially refused to accept Budha Magar’s complaint. In cases like a bounced check, where evidence of wrongdoing is immediately apparent, the police typically register the complaint promptly and proceed with action. However, they did not do so in this case.
Setopati spoke with Superintendent of Police Arjun Timsina, chief of the District Police Office, Dang, regarding this matter. He initially denied that Budha Magar had come to the police office to file the complaint but acknowledged it after further questioning.
Excerpts of the conversation with SP Timsina:
What is happening with the complaint against lawmaker Met Mani Chaudhary?
Nothing has happened. It hasn’t even been verified.
Who is Dhat Budha Magar?
I don’t know him personally. I don’t know his personal business. I’ve heard he is from Rolpa but lives in Dang. I’ve never even seen him.
Why did he send the complaint by post?
Well, if he had come in person, we would have known. He hasn’t come. He hasn’t completed the verification. Instead, another letter arrived by post asking for the complaint to be returned. Even when we called him to come and collect it, he didn’t show up. We called him two or three times. Now, we will message him to come for verification.
Budhamagar had initially come to the police office to file the complaint regarding the bounced check. Why didn’t the police accept his complaint then?
He didn’t come. He had not come.
We have information that he had come and that he returned only after the police refused to register his complaint. Why did the police turn him away?
The section handling cases had asked Budha Magar to disclose the source of his money. He didn’t disclose it and therefore sent the complaint by post. Even then, the source wasn’t disclosed.
Is the source of the transaction not mentioned in the complaint?
It is not disclosed in the complaint. Only the amount is disclosed.
What reason is given in the complaint for the check bouncing?
That can only be addressed after the case is registered. For us to give information to the media on the matter, it has to be registered. It’s also a personal issue. We can’t say much.
This complaint is against an elected lawmaker. That’s why we’re asking.
Since it came by post and hasn’t been registered, we can’t say much.
Did the police refuse to register the complaint because Chaudhary is a lawmaker?
No, no. We’ve taken action against ministers even. It’s not like that. We’re in a place of law enforcement, and it will be enforced.
When did the transaction occur?
Would that be known based on the check? You should now contact them to find out what happened and how it happened. Since it has not entered the legal process until it’s registered, you should talk to both parties.
Have you called Budha Magar recently?
He didn’t answer. I called him myself, and the section did too. He didn’t pick up. We’ll now ask him through message what he’ll do regarding his process.
It is clear from this conversation with SP Timsina that the police initially refused to register Budha Magar’s complaint. Even when talking to us, the police tried to hide the fact that Budha Magar had visited the police office to file the complaint.
There are many serious questions linked to this case: Why did an elected lawmaker need to issue a Rs 54 million check to a contractor? What is the financial status and source of funds for lawmaker Chaudhary who issued the check? If this was a legitimate transaction, why is the case progressing in such a suspicious manner? Why did the police initially refuse to accept the complaint? Why did the contractor request to withdraw the complaint? Why is lawmaker Chaudhary reluctant to speak on this matter?
The complaint against lawmaker Chaudhary arrived at the District Police Office, Dang, on June 19. Setopati tried to contact him on June 20 to inquire about the matter, but he didn’t answer our calls. We then sent him a message saying we wanted to discuss the check issue.
Soon after, he responded via message: “Let me settle it, then we’ll talk. It could go wrong again. I’ll explain everything. I’ve gotten myself trapped while trying to help someone.”
It appears he is now close to "successfully" settling the case, as the contractor has requested the withdrawal of the complaint.
We have continued trying to contact lawmaker Chaudhary, but he has not answered our calls. Therefore, we have messaged him the following questions:
What is your relationship with construction entrepreneur Dhat Budha Magar? How long have you known him? Why did you take Rs 54 million from him? Why did you issue a check from an account with insufficient funds? Some allege you took the money when you were a minister, promising to secure a contract for Budha Magar. Did you issue the Everest Bank check after you failed to award the contract to him and he started demanding his money back? If there was no transaction, why was a complaint involving Rs 54 million filed? Budha Magar has filed an application to withdraw the complaint against you—have you paid the amount? How did you pay?
Lawmaker Chaudhary hasn’t responded to these questions.
We also messaged the following questions to Budha Magar, but he has since avoided contact:
How long have you known Met Mani Chaudhary? What was the transaction about? When and why did you take the money? Did Chaudhary, as a minister, take Rs 54 million promising a contract? When did the check bounce? Why did you send the complaint to the police post? Why didn’t you go for verification when the police called? Have you received the money back?
Having initially refused to register Budha Magar’s complaint, the police are now sitting “comfortably” despite ample reasons to suspect the transaction. If the transaction is found suspicious, the police can question both Budha Magar and lawmaker Chaudhary and determine the legality of the transaction through an investigation.
Some people familiar with both Budha Magar and Chaudhary claim the transaction occurred when Chaudhary was the urban development minister in 2022. They speculate that the contractor paid Chaudhary for some work, but when it didn’t materialize, he demanded his money back. Chaudhary served as urban development minister from June 26, 2022, to December 25, 2022, when Sher Bahadur Deuba was prime minister.
