National
33kg gold smuggling case: Bajeko Sekuwa outlets sealed
Five outlets of the popular restaurant chain Bajeko Sekuwa were sealed in Kathmandu on Wednesday as part of investigation into a gold smuggling racket.Five outlets of the popular restaurant chain Bajeko Sekuwa were sealed in Kathmandu on Wednesday as part of investigation into a gold smuggling racket.
A special police team formed to look into gold smuggling raided the eateries owned by Chetnath (Chetan) Bhandari.
Owner of the Bajeko Sekuwa franchise, Bhandari is being tried at the Morang District Court for his alleged connection with Chudamani Upreti aka Gore, the mastermind behind the 33kg gold smuggling case.
With permission from the Morang District Court, teams were dispatched to seal all the Sekuwa branches. However, only five of them in Kathmandu Valley were found to be owned by Bhandari, according to Home Ministry Joint-secretary Ishwor Poudel, who leads the probe.
Poudel added that they were studying to see if Bhandari owns other outlets too. Bank accounts, shares and movable and immovable properties of Bhandari were frozen after a case was filed against him in the court.
DSP Nishan Thapa of the Morang District Police said that properties of Bhandari as well as 62 other accused were frozen when the case was filed against them. “The search for Bhandari and 30 others has been intensified,” he added.