Durga Prasai, a medical professional and coordinator of the 'National, National, Religious, Cultural and Civil Defense Campaign Nepal', has been arrested again. For the past few years, the government has been arresting him and releasing him in court.

The last four times, he has been arrested only for election-related offenses. On 17 Falgun, the police arrested him on the same charge. The police arrested him at the request of the Election Commission after he called for a shutdown targeting the 21 Falgun House of Representatives elections.

Prasai has been arrested at least 10 times since 2076 BS on the basis of controversial statements. He has also been released from court each time.

The Sushila Karki-led government, formed after the Gen-G movement on 23 and 24 Bhadra, has tried to arrest and detain Prasai five times. However, the government's efforts to imprison Prasai have been stopped by court orders every time. In the meantime, the court has been ordering his release either on bail or on a regular date. He was released on bail of three hundred thousand rupees by the Supreme Court on 28 Chaitra 2081 in a case of offenses against public peace on 19 Shrawan, but has been continuously arrested for election offenses since 2 Mangsir 2082.

That's why Prasai is released from court

The government arrests him with the assessment that he may be involved in anarchic speech and a threat to peace and security, and a habeas corpus petition is filed on his behalf in the Supreme Court. The court orders his release every time because there is no reason to detain him. And the police have been releasing him and arresting him again after a few days.

There is a legal provision that allows the government to file a writ of habeas corpus in the court claiming that anyone has been detained illegally and with malicious intent. The court has a practice of looking at the writs registered in this way with importance as they are also linked to the fundamental rights of the citizen. Due to this practice, the court has always released him. In addition, since he is also a cancer patient, he has been getting 'special concessions' from the court.

He was last arrested on 4 Falgun. He was released on 12 Falgun on the court's order. After Prasai issued a public statement on 3 Falgun calling for a 'Nepal Bandh' program not to participate in the 21 Falgun election, the police arrested him based on a letter from the Election Commission. The Election Commission had written to the District Police Range, Kathmandu, claiming that the election would be disrupted and peace and security would be disrupted. Based on that, the police arrested Prasai and on 5 Falgun, the District Administration Office, Kathmandu extended his remand for 5 days.

Prasai, who has been arrested 10 times in the last 6 years, has been charged with indecent behavior, electronic transactions, fraud, criminal nuisance, organized crime, murder, banking offenses, and offenses against public peace. All these cases are pending in court.

Tinkune case

Durga Prasai was the commander of the 'United People's Movement Mobilization Committee' in the royalist demonstration held in Tinkune, Kathmandu on 15 Chaitra 2081. Two people, including a journalist, were killed that day. Prasai fled to India after the incident. The police arrested him from Assam, India, and brought him to Kathmandu on 28 Chaitra 2081. After his arrest, he spent 4 months in pretrial detention. In the Tinkune case, Prasai was charged with crimes against the state, manslaughter, attempted murder, and criminal nuisance.

The Kathmandu District Court on 29 Jestha 2082 ordered Prasai to be remanded in custody for trial in the Tinkune incident and he spent 4 months in jail. Prasai had filed a writ petition in the High Court against the District Court order, saying that he was unable to seek treatment due to illness. In that writ, the Patan High Court ordered his release on a bail of 3 lakh rupees on 19 Shrawan 2082. The bench of Justices Tanka Prasad Gurung and Dilli Ratna Shrestha had ordered his release on bail.

A medical examination revealed that he was suffering from cancer and that he had damaged personal and public property during the protest, so an order was issued to take a bail of 3 lakh rupees. On the same day, the Patan High Court had ordered his release on bail of 2.5 lakh rupees in another case related to ‘banking offences’ against him. The commercial bench of Justices Sudarshan Dev Bhatta and Munendra Prasad Awasthi had ordered Prasai to be released on bail in the banking offence case.

A case was registered against Prasai on a complaint filed by the Nepal Rastra Bank Supervision Department, demanding Rs 184.4 million in damages, imprisonment and fine. He was asked to pay a bail of Rs 2.5 million.

Electronic transaction-related charges

Prasai was arrested by the police on 4 Mangsir 2081 on charges related to electronic transactions. After his arrest, his son Nirajan Prasai filed a writ of habeas corpus in the Supreme Court, claiming that he was illegally detained. The Supreme Court explained that it cannot be said that he was illegally detained for the investigation of a criminal offence. Before that, on 6 Asoj 2081, he was also arrested under the Electronic Transactions Act. He was released on a bail of Rs 100,000 by the Kathmandu District Court. Two months later, he was arrested after making a public statement about the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's investment in Cambodia. However, the Supreme Court ordered that Prasai be provided with necessary treatment by a specialist as he was suffering from cancer. The bench of Justices Mahesh Sharma Poudel and Nityanand Pandey gave this order on December 12, 2081.

Action was taken after the commission recommended that he make statements to disrupt or disrupt the election and that violence had occurred. The Supreme Court did not say it was illegal. It said that he would be released on bail and appearance bail and the investigation is ongoing. Fraud charges

The Central Investigation Bureau of the police arrested Prasai on December 14, 2081 on charges of 'organised criminal profit' on charges of threatening businessmen and obtaining benefits.

The Governor's Office of Nepal Rastra Bank conducted an investigation on 27 Kartik 2081, and businessmen Pawan Kumar Golyan and Dipendra Agrawal filed a complaint against Prasain for the crime of 'criminal profit (extortion)'. Based on the same complaint, the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of the police, which arrested Prasain, gave a written response to the court.

He filed a petition in the Supreme Court from detention. On 5 Poush 2081, a joint bench of Justices Nahakul Subedi and Saranga Subedi ordered the release of Prasain, who was arrested on charges of fraud. Prasain had filed a writ of habeas corpus in the Supreme Court, alleging that he was being illegally detained. The court had ordered his release, saying that the ‘re-arrest was not in accordance with the law’.

Arrested 5 times during the Karki-led government.

After the Gen-G movement on 23 and 24 Bhadra, former Chief Justice Sushila Karki came to lead the government. She became the Prime Minister on 27 Bhadra with the mandate to hold elections on 21 Falgun.

During this period, Prasai was also arrested for his speeches and activities. After the Karki-led government came to power, he was arrested on 2 Mangsir, 4 Magh, 23 Magh, 4 Falgun and 17 Falgun. The Karki-led government had arrested him on 23 Magh 2082 for electricity transactions and in addition, he has been arrested 4 times on charges of violating the election code of conduct. Prasai has been arrested on 2 Mangsir, 4 Magh, 4 Falgun and 17 Falgun.

What does Home Minister Aryal say?

Home Minister Omprakash Aryal claimed that the police arrested him after he sent a letter alleging that he had engaged in activities that would affect the election after the Election Commission issued the code of conduct.