Deepak Manange arrested in Kathmandu

KATHMANDU: Former Gandaki Province Minister Deepak Manange has been detained in Kathmandu. Manange, who was convicted by the Supreme Court (SC) in relation to an attempt to murder case, was arrested this morning by a team from the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) in the Sano Bharyang area.

On November 5, the Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Patan Appellate Court regarding Manange's case.

The court found him guilty of attempted murder, related to his involvement in the plot to kill gangster Milan Gurung, also known as Chakre Milan. The Patan Court had previously sentenced Manange to five years in prison.

This followed an earlier ruling from the Kathmandu District Court on January 21, 2007, which had sentenced Manange to two years.

However, after the government appealed, the Patan Appellate Court overturned the district court's decision on August 12, 2012, and increased the sentence to five years.

Despite the court’s ruling, Manange had remained at large for a long time, with the government showing little initial interest in his arrest.

However, he was eventually apprehended in Kathmandu and presented in court the next day, where he was ordered to be detained at Dillibazar Jail.

Although Manange had not appealed the decision of the Court of Appeal for six years, he filed an appeal with the Supreme Court only after his arrest.

Initially, the Supreme Court dismissed his appeal due to the expiration of the filing deadline.

However, following a petition from Manange, the court allowed the appeal and granted his release on a bond of NPR 27,375.

Manange, who had served multiple terms as a minister and was elected to the Provincial Assembly of Gandaki from Manang, ran unopposed.

He had been a member of the Unified Socialist Party led by Madhav Nepal but later attempted to regain his status as an independent legislator.

Despite voting against his party's decisions in the provincial assembly, he faced no disciplinary action.

Following the Supreme Court's decision to continue his trial, Manange will now return to Dillibazar Jail, as the court upheld its previous judgment.