Former Speaker and CPN (Maoist Centre) Vice-chair Krishna Bahadur Mahara, who was arrested by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) in connection with a gold smuggling case, has been released on bail. The Patan High Court on Thursday ordered his release on a bail amount of Rs 2 million.
Mahara was arrested on October 12 following fresh instructions from the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), which is conducting an inquiry into his alleged involvement in smuggling gold concealed inside electronic cigarettes (vapes) in collaboration with a Chinese organized group.
According to police, the CIAA had sought his detention to move forward with a renewed probe into his role in facilitating the entry of smuggled gold through the vape-import channel. Mahara had been questioned by the CIAA only days earlier, on October 9, at its Tangal office.
