Pushparaj Shrestha, the central command chief of the UML's 'National Volunteer Force', has been found to be an accused in multiple criminal cases. According to the police's 'Criminal Record System' (CRS), seven cases have been registered against him from 2065 to 2075.

He was last arrested in Bhadra 2075 on charges of kidnapping and hostage-taking. Ram Bahadur Katuwal, a resident of Siddhicharan-4, Okhaldhunga and living in Dhumbarahi, Kathmandu, filed a complaint alleging that he had been threatened.

He was also investigated on charges of taking Ganesh Kumar Kunwar hostage on 4 Poush 2073 and robbing him of money. Kunwar was found to have been taken to a dera and forced to cut a check worth Rs 1.1 million. At that time, he was the Sindhuli district president of the Maoist-affiliated Young Communist League (YCL). He has remained in the UML since the Maoists and UML merged to form the CPN.

According to the police, a case was filed against him in 2063, 2064 and 2065 for murder. In 2067, a case was filed against him under the Public Offences Act. At that time, he was accused of assaulting Rajan Ghising of Sindhuli. He was arrested in 2070 for kidnapping and body-holding. 

UML's publicity department chief Rajendra Gautam said that he did not know in detail about the legal questions raised against Shrestha, the chairman of the 'National Volunteer Force'. He said that further steps would be taken only after it is found out to what extent the law has raised questions. 'There should be an investigation, there are state bodies. It is not enough to just raise questions, it should also be proven. What were the state bodies doing until now?' He said, 'There was no question of bringing him to the leadership by looking at the horoscope, our attention has been drawn after it came to the media. The truth is determined based on facts. No one is above the law.’