Rahul Mahara Sent to Jail for Gold Smuggling Case

The Kathmandu District Court has ordered Rahul Mahara, the son of former Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara, to be sent to jail for judicial custody. This decision comes as part of the ongoing investigation into a gold smuggling operation that took place in December of the previous year.

A single bench of Judge Dandapani Sharma presided over the case and decided to send Rahul Mahara to jail until further investigations are completed and the case reaches a conclusion. Meanwhile, another defendant, Lokendra Bahadur Paudel, has been granted release on bail, set at Rs500,000, according to Deepak Dahal, the court’s information officer.

Rahul Mahara was arrested on August 30, 2023, in connection with the alleged smuggling of nine kilograms of gold concealed within electronic cigarettes, commonly known as vapes, in December of the previous year. The Kathmandu District Attorney Office recently filed a case against four individuals, including Rahul Mahara, on charges related to organized crime.

The case was initiated following a recommendation by Nepal Police’s Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) to prosecute those involved in the smuggling of gold, which had been hidden within e-cigarettes. The CIB’s investigation began after the airport customs office seized a shipment of electronic cigarettes on December 25, 2022, some of which were determined to have been stolen from the customs office’s warehouse. Subsequent investigations by the CIB revealed the presence of concealed gold within these e-cigarette consignments.

The CIB investigation also raised suspicions about the Mahara father-son duo’s alleged connection with a Chinese national believed to be involved in smuggling gold by hiding the precious metal in e-cigarette consignments. The Maharas have consistently denied these allegations, and the legal proceedings continue to unfold.

Previously, the police had inquired with the senior Mahara, who also holds the position of vice-chair of the ruling party CPN (Maoist Centre), regarding his connections with Chinese smugglers and the gold smuggling operation. However, he was not interrogated in the presence of the government attorney, a practice followed in other high-profile cases involving senior political figures, such as former Prime Ministers Madhav Kumar Nepal and Baburam Bhattarai in connection with the Lalita Niwas land grab scandal.

A senior police officer clarified that the former Speaker was merely inquired and no case has been filed against him, as it was determined that his interrogation in the presence of the government attorney was not necessary.