Former prime minister and outgoing Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba has been abroad for nearly four months.
He had left the country shortly before the House of Representatives election, flying to Singapore on February 26.
A few days earlier, his wife and former foreign minister Arzu Rana Deuba had also reached Singapore via India.
It is not clear which hospital they visited or what specific treatment they underwent in Singapore.
On September 9 last year, the Deuba residence in Budhanilkantha was set on fire and the couple was physically assaulted. After the incident, the Deuba couple underwent treatment in Nepal for a long time.
The couple's secretariat informed journalists via WhatsApp that they traveled to Hong Kong after staying in Singapore for some time. While the secretariat said that they would undergo further treatment in Hong Kong, it not disclose the name of the hospital or the nature of the treatment.
On March 20, the secretariat said that the couple had reached Hong Kong for further treatment and to participate in family events. Although it was stated that they would return home within a week or ten days, they have not yet returned.
In the meantime, Deuba's secretariat has not provided official information regarding their medical treatment or other matters.
Following the formation of the new government led by Rastriya Swatantra Party’s (RSP) senior leader Balen Shah, a process was initiated to issue an arrest warrant and a red notice against the couple. However, the arrest warrant has already expired, and the Supreme Court has also directed authorities not to arrest the couple based on that warrant.
In the meantime, it has been found that the Deuba couple has sent emails to the Department of Money Laundering Investigation and other bodies.
In their letters, they have said that they will return to Nepal by August 13 and cooperate with the investigation. Expressing their commitment to cooperate, they requested that arrest warrants not be issued as if they had fled Nepal and asked for an environment to be created for their safe return to Nepal.
When asked about this, Deuba’s nephew and personal secretary Bhanu Deuba confirmed that the couple recently sent emails to the Department of Money Laundering Investigation containing these commitments.
On September 9, videos circulated on social media claiming that burned cash was found at Deuba's residence. Following this, a team from the Department of Money Laundering Investigation visited the Budhanilkantha residence to collect samples of the burned currency. Citing the burned cash and other grounds, the department launched an investigation into the couple.
"They sent a letter via email to the Department of Money Laundering Investigation stating that they will cooperate with the investigation," said Bhanu Deuba.
Meanwhile, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has brought former foreign minister Arzu Rana Deuba under its investigation related to the e-passport procurement process.
On Tuesday, an investigation team from the CIAA visited the Deuba residence in Budhanilkantha to serve a notice requiring her to appear for questioning.
Rajendra Shrestha, ward chairman of Budhanilkantha Municipality-2, informed Setopati that the CIAA team contacted him to serve the notice.
"The CIAA team contacted me because they needed to serve a notice to Arzu Rana Deuba for investigation. I facilitated their contact with Bhanu Deuba," he said.
The CIAA said that former foreign minister Rana has been given three days, excluding travel time, to appear for questioning. It has also warned that legal action will be taken if she does not appear within that time.
When asked about the matter, Bhanu Deuba said that he had no information regarding the service of the notice to Arzu Rana Deuba. "I have no information about this," he said.
He further told Setopati that it is not yet certain when the Deuba couple will return to Nepal.
