Police have again arrested medical entrepreneur Durga Prasai after he accused Prime Minister (PM) KP Sharma Oli of grave crime.
Prasai was arrested from his residence in Bhaktapur by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police on the charge of cyber crime Tuesday.
According to Superintendent of Police Habindra Bogati, spokesperson for the CIB, Prasai was arrested after obtaining an arrest warrant for him from the Kathmandu District Court on Tuesday morning.
Prasai has revealed documents provided by another person alleging that PM Oli has invested Rs 32.50 billion in a telecom company in Cambodia through a video call.
Screenshot of the allegation has been widely shared on social media on Tuesday and some media outlets have even made news reports of the allegation.
A Facebook handle named Anup Nepal has posted a video of that screenshot. The handle with image of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chairman Rabi Lamichhane as profile picture has stated that the evidence was acquired by Prasai who has been waging a campaign to save the nation, nationalism, religion-culture and citizens for some time.
Prasai has been making such allegations against Oli for some time.
Prasai has pointed in his allegation that Oli had told the House that he will add some amount on the invested amount and give to the person who proves that he has invested in Cambodia after Prasai made allegation to that regard. He has added that he took initiative to acquire verified document showing Oli has shares worth $ 210 million (around Rs 32.5 billion). "I have brought that document after getting it verified as he will claim that it is fake. I am making that public," Prasai stated.
Yoho television has broadcast a video with Prasai's allegation.
The document presented by Prasai does not just have a different signature of Oli but also wrongly mentioned Khadka Prasad Oli as the PM's name.
Prasai, who was close to Oli in the past and publicly calls the PM grandpa, was made central member of CPN-UML by the latter. He was later removed from the party after he started a political campaign along with former king Gyanendra Shah and his son Paras on February 13, 2023.
Police said that Prasai will be investigated under Section 47 of the Electronic Transactions Act, 2008.
The section has provisions related to publication of illegal materials in electronic form.
“If any person publishes or displays any material in the electronic media including computer, internet which are prohibited to publish or display by the prevailing law or which may be contrary to the public morality or decent behavior or any types of materials which may spread hate or jealousy against anyone or which may jeopardize the harmonious relations subsisting among the peoples of various castes, tribes and communities shall be liable to the punishment with the fine not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees or with the imprisonment not exceeding five years or with both,” says Section 47 (1) of the Act.
According to Additional Inspector General Deepak Thapa, the CIB chief, investigation against Prasai will begin under the same section.
“We have obtained the arrest warrant to conduct investigation on cyber crime for now, we’ll proceed accordingly based on what evidence is found during investigation and what laws are attracted,” he said.
Earlier, two people filed a complaint against Prasai at the Cyber Bureau under Section 47 of the Act after he made allegations against various people.
A team from the Cyber Bureau arrested Prasai from his residence in Bhaktpur on September 22. Later the same day, the Kathmandu District Court remanded him to custody for three days according to Section 47 of the Act.
On September 23, Prasai’s son Nirajan filed a habeas corpus petition at the apex court seeking his release. Nirajan named the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Cyber Bureau of Nepal Police as defendants in the petition.
Responding to the petition on September 24, Justice Prakash Man Singh Raut’s bench refused to release Prasai. The court issued a show cause notice ordering the defendants to submit a written response within 15 days.
On September 25, the Kathmandu District Court extended Prasai’s custody by five days. The court on October 1 then ordered Prasai be released after posting a bail bond of Rs 50,000 each in two separate cases.
AIG Thapa said that the CIB is preparing to initiate action against Prasai based on the police report this time.
As Prasai has been arrested under Section 47 again, he could face up to seven and a half years in prison if found guilty.
“If any person commits an offense referred to in sub-section (1) from time to time, he/she shall be liable to the punishment for each time with one and one half of the punishment of the previous punishment,” Section 47 (2) of the Act states.
According to AIG Thapa, the CIB could also investigate Prasai for document forgery as fake documents have also been shown. Other sections could also be attracted if other people were also involved in it, Thapa said.
Prasai has been involved in many controversies and in the past has campaigned for non-payment of bank loans. He has also made disparaging remarks against students studying medicine in Bangladesh in the past and has levied outrageous allegations against leaders from many political parties.
Prasai’s bodyguards Deepak Khadka and Ram Kumar Dhimal were arrested from the Supreme Court premises in March when they were entering the court for a hearing related to Prasai. Along with the gun, police also recovered two small magazines, two big magazines, one magazine holder, and 100 rounds of bullet inside a black bag from the two.
They were later charged under the Arms and Ammunition Act.
