By Our Reporter

At a time when former Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister and president of Rastriya Swatantra Party Rabi Lamichhane is in police custody for about a month on the charge of cooperatives frauds and organised crimes, former Internal Affairs and Law Minister of Koshi Province Lila Ballav Adhikari has been arrested days after he resigned from the post after his involvement in human trafficking was revealed.

CBI arrested and brought him to Kathmandu for his alleged involvement in the crime of human trafficking.

Adhikari was arrested from his residence in Bargachhi, Biratnagar Metropolis-2 by a team of police led by DSP Narayan Chimoriya, Morang, arrested Adhikari at 1:30 pm on Sunday.  

The police arrested Adhikari after the Kathmandu District Court issued an arrest warrant against him on Sunday.

Adhikari held on the charge of human trafficking said that he would cooperate with the investigation process.

Adhikari had been to Tokyo, Japan, on October 30 to participate in the 'Culture at Hote' programme organised by Arts Council Tokyo from October 29 to November 3. He had been to Japan without obtaining permission from the council of ministers of the province and the centre and was kept on hold for 25 hours at Tokyo Airport before deporting to Nepal along with four others.

Kanchan Devkota of Rasuwa, Dawa Sherpa and Janak Rai of Khotang who had travelled with Adhikari were arrested from the Tribhuvan International Airport upon their arrival from Japan on November 2.

Adhikari and Anita Timsina, who was with Adhikari, had left the immigration office after signing a document.

According to the statements of the three held on November 2, Jugal Rijal of Bidur, Nuwakot, Bir Bahadur Sunuwar of Jiri, Dolakha and Mahesh Pandey of Tripura Sundari, Dhading, who were involved in making fake documents, have also been arrested.

Police have been investigating the arrested people on the charge of making forgery documents of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law.

Adhikari is also alleged to have received Rs. 1 million each from the three individuals in exchange for illegally facilitating their travel to Japan.

The ruling CPN-UML, Koshi Province Committee, had suspended Adhikari's ordinary membership, relieving him of all responsibilities, amid human trafficking allegations, citing his act has tarnished the party's reputation. This decision was approved by the party’s central secretariat's meeting on Saturday.

Earlier on November 7, he resigned from the post of the minister.

The police have already received permission from the court to detain him for seven days.

The case of Adhikari revealed how politicians in Nepal have been involved in human trafficking. Earlier, Nepali Congress leader Bal Krishna Khand and UML secretary Top Bahadur Rayamajhi were held for trafficking Nepali nationals by making them Bhutanese refugees. Though Khand was released on bail, Rayamajhi and others are still behind bars.

Moreover, by arresting Koshi's former minister Adhikari, who is also a powerful UML leader in Morang, the government has tried to send a message to Rabi Lamichhane that the government would not spare any wrongdoers. Minister for Communication and Information Technology hinted this on Monday during a press conference organised to make the cabinet decisions public.

Rastriya Swatanra Party has been demonstrating since Lamichhane's arrest stating that his arrest was a political revenge.