SC orders cops to produce accused

The Supreme Court directed the Metropolitan Police Range Hanumandhoka, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Maharajgunj Bikash Raj Khanal and District Government Lawyers’ Office Kathmandu to produce Pragyan SJB Rana and Pradip Kumar Pakhrin, who have been detained on the charge of cheating, in the court on Wednesday. A single bench of Justice Rajendra Kumar Bhandari issued the order.The bench directed the authorities to produce the two by 12 AM on Wednesday along with written explanations on the need to detain them. The bench issued the order following a hearing today.Seeking the release of the duo, Rana’s son Pradipta and Pakhrin’s relative Dipak Tamang had filed separate writ petitions this morning. The petitioners have accused the police of detaining the two illegally.The police had arrested and produced Rana in the Kathmandu District Court. The court had directed that Rana be subjected to an investigation on cheating and forgery charges. “But the authority to detain him expired on October 5. The police have been detaining him illegally since then,” Rana’s son claimed in the petition.