Pokhara's co-operative victim says: The police's investigation was slow due to influence

The victims are preparing to hold a protest in Pokhara on Sunday demanding a fair investigation of the co-operative fraud. In a press conference held on Saturday to inform about the protest, the savers said that the government is not serious about investigating the co-operative fraud. Kiran Shrestha, coordinator of Kaski Sahakari Peedit Sangharsh Samiti, said that although an arrest warrant was issued against RPP MP Geeta Basnet in a similar incident, Home Minister Ravi Lamichhane was acquitted.

'Now it is being misled that there is no complaint against the Home Minister,' he said, 'on January 22, we gave a complaint to the Kaski police. Should it be written on a copper sheet? Should we write about fraud in golden letters? It is written on paper. The district police chief has asked for it.' He said that the Kaski police chief has assured that the process will be carried forward from the next investigation report on this matter.

The police received the financial analysis report of the second phase of Suryadarshan Sahakari prepared by the expert team of Pokhara Metropolitan Municipality on May 27. "We have received something bigger than the complaint, the chief of police has said that we will take it forward," he said. He alleges that even before this, in Kaski's cooperatives, some are being prosecuted and some are not being prosecuted, some are being remanded in custody and some are being released on bail, so the whole country is under political influence from the police administration to the Adda court. Shrestha said that although the Sahara Cooperative of Chitwan filed a complaint against 32 companies, the police did not proceed with the investigation.

The cooperative victims are demanding that the Home Minister should be investigated by forming a parliamentary investigation committee. Victims have said that such a committee should start investigating the co-operatives that were cheated by GB Rai. He can't even stop like this. It is heard that UML president KP Sharma Oli has stopped it. Even he cannot be stopped," said the coordinator, Shrestha, "The investigation committee should be formed under any circumstances. If the people in power are involved in co-operative fraud while the investigation committee is being formed, they should resign immediately. The prime minister, the home minister, whoever is, should resign. He has experience that the victims are increasing day by day when the

government is only told how to maintain this power, how to save the chair, how to form another government. May you be acquitted tomorrow, but let's not investigate. Let's understand what is the reality. It is not just by being blindly devoted and supporting each other," he said. "Today, this government has supported him and put him on the chair. If Ravi Lamichhane is found guilty, what will they say then?'

Victim savers have complained that despite many protest programs, there was no hearing. "The directors of the cooperative cheated directly, but we have suffered more from the regulatory bodies and this state system," said coordinator Shrestha, "the government does not care." People are dying day by day. People are dying without getting medical treatment. Divorce is happening. There is no money to do the shopping. Crying is going on day by day. The government does not know this.'

The victims are demanding that the government should quickly enact laws and regulations to return the savings from the assets of those who were arrested and imprisoned for pre-trial detention, call on debtors to pay their debts, protect the assets of cooperatives, and establish an agency to deal with savers. On Sunday, the cooperative victims are holding a protest rally from Pokhara's Srijan Chowk to Prithvi Chowk. Savers of 7 cooperatives who are in trouble will participate in the rally organized by 7 political parties active in Kaski demanding justice for cooperative victims.