Former Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation and Congress leader Deepak Khadka has arrived abroad under 'suspicious' circumstances. Khadka, who is under investigation for alleged money laundering, secretly arrived abroad last month.

It is suspected that he reached the US by land via India. Khadka was also relieved of his ministerial post after the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned the next day after protests erupted in anger over the police crackdown on the Gen-G movement on 23 Bhadra. The protesters also set fire to Khadka's residence in Budhanilkantha.

During that time, a video and photo of Nepali and foreign notes found in his residence were made public. Based on this, the Money Laundering Investigation Department is investigating Khadka's assets.

Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal himself mentioned that Khadka, who has not been seen in public programs since the Gen-G movement, has gone abroad. In an interview with Naya Patrika, he said, "The then Energy Minister (Deepak Khadka) has fled, others are also trying to flee, we are studying whether there are provisions to prevent them from fleeing." He did not reveal which country Khadka went to.

Other government officials also did not want to comment on this. While examining Khadka's travel details, no details of his last trip abroad through Tribhuvan International Airport could be found. According to the Passport Department, Khadka has a diplomatic passport in his capacity as a minister and MP. It appears that he last traveled abroad through the airport in February 2025.

Khadka also has a personal passport. This passport, which has visas from various countries, including the US, appears to have been used while he was a minister and MP. Khadka came from the US on August 13, 2024, using his personal passport.

A Home Ministry official said, "It does not appear that he (Khadka) went to another country using the airport, but there is informal information that he is currently abroad. This means that we also suspect that he went via land to India." The official said that the route by which Khadka went abroad is under investigation.

Former minister Khadka was accused of being involved in suspicious transactions and activities while he was a minister, MP and businessman, but he was outside the scope of the investigation. While he was the energy minister, he was embroiled in controversies including financial manipulation to distribute hydropower project licenses to vested interests, a falling out with the then executive director of the Electricity Authority, Kulman Ghising, and misuse of Nepal Scout land for financial gain.

Khadka is also accused of manipulating the formulation of self-serving laws by holding a parliamentary committee meeting at his hotel. He himself is a businessman related to water resources. He was criticized for making Khadka the energy, water resources and irrigation minister due to a conflict of interest.

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Update 

Former energy minister Deepak Khadka, who left the country immediately after the Gen-G movement, has returned home . He informed that he reached the Indian capital, New Delhi, via the Terai and that his family is still there .