Pokhara : Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) President Rabi Lamichhane was greeted with black flags when he reached Pokhara on Tuesday afternoon to attend a party meeting.

Because of the protest by cooperative fraud victims, security personnel had a hard time escorting Lamichhane to the meeting venue at Birauta in Pokhara-17. Even after Lamichhane entered the event venue, the victims chanted slogans against him for nearly an hour.

A large number of cooperative fraud victims had assembled in Birauta, carrying placards with various slogans, after learning that Lamichhane was visiting Pokhara to attend the party meeting.

Lamichhane has been accused of siphoning off deposits from Suryadarshan Cooperatives into Gorkha Media Network, the parent company of Galaxy 4K Television. He even served as the Managing Director of the company. He later quit the company and formed RSP.

Lamichhane has denied his involvement in the misuse of money from Suryadarshan Cooperatives.

Kiran Shrestha, coordinator of the Joint Struggle Committee of Cooperative Victims, said they wouldn’t spare anyone until they get justice. “How can they walk freely after embezzling our money?” he questioned.

A total of 1,035 depositors of the cooperative have filed a complaint with the Kaski District Police Office, claiming that Rs 1.11 billion from the cooperative has been misused. The case is currently under consideration in the Kaski District Court. Although 19 people were named as defendants initially, complaints have also been filed against 14 companies and four individuals. Likewise, 25 individuals are facing fraud allegations.

Most of the accused, including the cooperative’s founding chairperson GB Rai, remain at large.