The Patan High Court has granted bail to medical entrepreneur Durga Prasai in two cases.
On Monday, a commercial bench of Judges Sudarshan Dev Bhatta and Munendra Prasad Awasthi ordered Prasai’s release on a Rs 2.5 million bail in a banking offense case.
On February 5, Nepal Rastra Bank had written to the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police to investigate Prasai’s transactions.
The CIB submitted its report to the Special Government Attorney’s Office after completing its investigation. The office filed a case against Prasai, demanding Rs 184.4 million in damages, fines, imprisonment, and compensation for the Victims’ Relief Fund.
Prasai was accused of suspicious transactions, including round-tripping (showing false transactions) and related-party transactions involving conflicts of interest in his accounts in various banks and financial institutions.
The court’s order stated that Prasai cannot be deemed innocent at this stage.
“Although Prasai denied the charges while testifying in court, evidence including documents from involved parties, co-defendants’ statements during investigation, and the inquiry committee’s report suggest round-tripping and loan misappropriation. Immediate evidence does not support declaring him innocent,” the order noted.
Considering Prasai’s cancer ailment, the court ordered his release on a Rs 2.5 million bail, pending further evidence and final judgment.
Also on Monday, the Patan High Court ordered Prasai’s release on a Rs 300,000 bail in the case related to the Tinkune incident.
A bench of Judges Tanka Prasad Gurung and Dilli Ratna Shrestha of the Patan High Court ordered Prasai to post a Rs 300,000 bail in the case, according to the court’s information officer Parvati Hitan.
“A bail of Rs 300,000 has been set for him in the Tinkune incident case. The order will now be sent to the district court, and he will be released after the process is completed there,” she said.
Prasai and three others had challenged the Kathmandu District Court’s order to send them to judicial custody. The high court overturned that order and granted bail to Prasai, Sushil Baral, Dandapani Regmi, and Saroj Gautam (alias Tara Rajawadi).
On June 12, the Kathmandu District Court had ordered Prasai and six others to be held in judicial custody.
The government attorney had demanded punishment for Prasai, accusing him of offenses against the state, homicide, attempted murder, criminal mischief, and organized crime.
Two people died after a pro-monarchy protest led by Prasai in Tinkune of Kathmandu on March 28 turned violent. Journalist Suresh Rajak died in a fire while reporting the incident, while Sabin Maharjan of Kirtipur was killed by police gunfire.
