Police are set to seek an extension of remand for businessman Shekhar Golchha and proceed with investigation into a separate case.
On Monday, the Supreme Court issued a writ of mandamus to release Golchha on bail in a case involving charges under the Securities Act, 2006. Following that order, Golchha deposited a bail amount of Rs 500,000 at the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB).
However, Golchha has been kept in custody for investigation under the Insurance Act, 2022, according to Additional Inspector General Manoj KC, chief of the CIB.
"In accordance with the Supreme Court's order, we took bail from him under the Securities Act. Today, his remand will be extended on other charges. The Supreme Court has not spoken on that matter," he said.
Police had obtained an arrest warrant for Golchha for offenses under the Insurance Act, but his remand had not yet been extended on those charges.
The Supreme Court's order noted: "It appears that permission was granted only to issue an arrest warrant under Section 9 (2) of the National Criminal Procedure Code 2017 but not to keep him in custody for offenses under the Insurance Act 2022, and no claim regarding this was made in the petition. Therefore, it is not necessary to pass a ruling on the matter in the context of this petition."
The CIB arrested Golchha on April 23 following reports of his alleged links with businessman Deepak Bhatta. These links were highlighted in a report released by the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON).
Police had obtained extensions of his remand twice since the arrest. The Supreme Court has invalidated those previous extensions.
