The Kathmandu District Court on Tuesday sent gangster Deepak Manange to judicial custody.

A single bench of Judge Rishikesh Wagle sent Manange to custody until final verdict. Registrar of district court Dhurba Upreti said he will be kept in Dillibazar prison.

 Manange and his aide Rajan Kumar Singh were arrested from Thamel on July 2 for allegedly extorting

Rs 50,000 from a local

businessman.

Manange was charged with abduction/hostage taking and organised crime operation. However, in the charge sheet, the district attorney has only filed a case of abduction/hostage taking.

The organised crime

operation charge that

police had brought against Manange for allegedly running a protection racket in Thamel area was dropped, owing to lack of substantial evidence.

Manange is already under investigation for amassing property from unknown sources.

 A joint investigation by the CIB, the Department of Money Laundering Investigation had found that he had amassed property worth Rs 140.7 million.