BIRATNAGAR: Immediately after being released under the orders of the High Court Biratnagar following his arrest on June 25, Abhishek Giri was re-arrested on Monday night, July 6. A team from the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) traveled to Biratnagar to apprehend him, and the 48-year-old Giri was transferred to Kathmandu overnight. On Tuesday, the District Court Kathmandu granted police permission to detain Giri for three days to facilitate an investigation into offences related to fraud and criminal extortion.

The CIB’s investigation was initiated following a complaint filed by a construction contractor. Subash Shrestha, the proprietor of Hetauda-based Shrestha Construction, lodged the complaint with the CIB, alleging that Giri extracted criminal profits through death threats. “Giri faces charges of extorting money from a road contractor under the pretext of securing contracts. The complaint states that instead of fixing the contracts, he turned around and extorted the contractor by issuing death threats,” said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Anupam Shamsher Jabara, spokesperson for the CIB.

Property seizure through contract traps and extortion

According to CIB Spokesperson Jabara, the investigation indicates that Giri’s modus operandi involved gaining victims’ trust by promising government contracts, followed by the seizure of their assets using threats, pressure, and financial manipulation. He is currently being investigated for fraud and extortion, and Jabra noted that a detailed parallel investigation into money laundering will also be advanced.

Initial inquiries reveal that Giri and Shrestha met about a year and a half ago, when Shrestha’s company was actively constructing the Postal Highway in Morang. Giri approached Shrestha by introducing himself as someone with close ties to top political leadership, subsequently assuring him that he could secure major government projects.

Once he gained Shrestha’s trust, Giri managed to split Shrestha’s sole contracts. He inserted a sub-contract for his own company, RC Suppliers and Construction Pvt. Ltd., into the Ratuwa-Keshaliya Postal Road and Biratnagar-Ghinaghat Road projects. “However, instead of running the contracts, Giri ramped up financial pressure on the entrepreneur. The complaint states that he systematically took control of the company’s expensive equipment and vehicles,” said CIB Spokesperson Jabra.

The complaint alleges that Giri went as far as selling Shrestha’s Hitachi-110 excavator and tippers bearing registration numbers Na 6 Kha 1406, Na 8 Kha 5927, and Na 6 Kha 7457 as scrap metal. Other machinery and vehicles were allegedly retained under his control through fear and intimidation.

Giri did not stop at property seizure. He intensified pressure on Shrestha, constantly issuing death threats against him and his family members to force the transfer of additional funds and assets. Under this duress, Giri allegedly forced the transfer of a 217.01-square-meter plot of land located in Ward No. 7 of Budhanilkantha Municipality, Kathmandu, to his wife, Sonu Acharya. According to the victim, the land was forcibly transferred about six months ago.

Abhishek Giri

CIB investigative officers discovered that Giri had also forced Shrestha to sign blank checks on various occasions. One of these checks was filled out for Rs 54,510,405 under the name of Chandra Kumar Shah. The investigation revealed that the check was intentionally bounced three times, and the bounced check was subsequently used to file an official complaint against Shrestha with the Morang Police.

Furthermore, Giri is accused of personally pocketing Rs 5 million out of Rs 15 million that Shrestha was due to collect from other individuals. The complaint states that Giri took control of this money by forcing the checks to be written under the names of Binod Singh and Chandra Kumar Gupta.

The charges detailed in the complaint show that Giri’s actions extend far beyond simple fraud or intimidation; he is actively involved in organized financial crime, systematic asset mapping, and the illegal accumulation of wealth. Police are currently uncovering the broader network linked to him. “Giri appears to have committed criminal breach of trust and seized the victim’s assets under the guise of securing contracts,” Jabra stated, adding that a comprehensive investigation into Giri and his network is underway.

Extorting inmate labor and allowances

Giri, a 48-year-old resident of Madhumara, Biratnagar-8, had previously been arrested on June 27. Police arrested him at the time on charges of running an extortion racket targeting inmates at Morang Prison. Following that arrest, Giri filed a habeas corpus petition at the High Court Biratnagar, which subsequently ordered his release so that the investigation could proceed while he remained out of custody.

It was immediately after this that the CIB arrested Giri and brought him to Kathmandu. Meanwhile, the Morang Police are auditing the funds extorted from the prison inmates and are preparing an investigative report. According to the investigation, Giri extorted Rs 10.7 million over a four-year period from the sales of bamboo stools (muda) and carpets woven by the prisoners. These funds were routed directly into the bank accounts of Giri and his associate, Sanjay Kumar Mandal, a resident of Hatkhola, Biratnagar.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Kabit Katuwal of Morang stated that the bamboo stools and carpets manufactured by the inmates were purchased by Kathmandu-based merchant Bijay Sah, his son Abhishek Sah, and Chitwan-based trader Dilli Ram Panta. The traders would deposit the product payments into accounts designated by Giri and Mandal. Police investigations show that Sah deposited Rs 5.5 million and Panta deposited Rs 5.2 million into the accounts of Giri and his designated associates.

Bank vouchers reveal that these funds were deposited into Giri’s account at Nepal Investment Bank, and his associate Mandal’s accounts at Citizens Bank and Kamana Sewa Bikas Bank. Financial details indicate that over Rs 2.4 million was deposited into the accounts of Giri and his associates by June 2026 alone.

Records show that the merchant Sah repeatedly sent large sums of money to an NMB Bank account. He transferred Rs 411,380 on April 3, 2024, and Rs 449,000 on March 22, 2024. Additionally, vouchers show that Sah deposited Rs 454,500 on February 15, and Rs 431,480 on March 4, into Kumari Bank via ConnectIPS.

On June 11, 2024, a sum of Rs 449,360 was deposited into Sanjay Kumar Mandal’s Citizens Bank account by Bijay Sah’s son, Abhishek Sah. The internal administration of ‘A Block’ inside the prison claims that this money was collected from the sales of bamboo stools and the forced collection of inmates’ summer allowances.

Giri and Mandal were also recent business partners in construction contracts, and Mandal serves as the Ward Chairman of Nepali Congress for Katahari-2. Merchant Sah declined to comment further on the matter, stating, “I have already disclosed everything to the investigative authorities.”

Abhishek Giri

SP Katuwal stated that police are compiling additional details regarding the extortion of inmate earnings. “Abhishek Giri’s associates have been found directly involved in extorting money from the inmates, and further facts will continue to unfold,” he said.

Out of the 1,199 inmates currently in Morang Prison, around 500 weave bamboo stools and 100 weave carpets. Their day-long labor produces items that are supplied to markets in Kathmandu and Chitwan. According to the prison administration, an average of one truck of bamboo stools is sold per month, gathering Rs 300,000 to 400,000.

Furthermore, Giri’s associates are accused of forcibly collecting Rs 1.36 million in allowances distributed on June 26 to 544 inmates in ‘Block B’ of Morang Prison at the rate of Rs 2,500 per person. Police claim that along with Mandal, Vinod Singh, vegetable supplier Bijay Kamat, and certain prison staff were also involved in this extortion.

Land across nine locations acquired in just two years

Police investigations have revealed that Giri spent his criminally acquired assets on purchasing land. Authorities discovered that Giri managed to accumulate land across nine separate locations within a two-year window using funds extorted from the prison and construction contracts.

Giri registered these properties under the name of his wife, Sonu Acharya. The police uncovered these assets while tracing wealth accumulated by Giri between 2023 and 2025.

The Budhanilkantha area in Kathmandu is regarded as an expensive and highly developed neighborhood. According to records from the Land Revenue Office, the house and land plot located at Plot No. 1039, with an area of 217.01 square meters in Ward No. 7 of Budhanilkantha Municipality (formerly Vishnu VDC), is solely registered under Sonu Acharya’s name. The deed was officially passed and registered in Acharya’s name on November 15, 2025.

Similarly, a plot of land with a total area of 1,822.37 square meters at Plot No. 192 in Katahari Rural Municipality Ward No. 4 (formerly Katahari VDC), Morang, was transferred to Sonu Acharya. Records indicate that this land was registered under her name on December 11, 2023. Giri had been released from prison on March 19, 2024 and married Acharya as his second wife during that same month. Within a few months of their marriage, Giri appears to have purchased a large plot of residential land in her name.

In addition, a plot of land measuring 4,655.52 square meters at Plot No. 379 in Babiyabirta Ward No. 3, Morang, was transferred to Acharya’s name. Land Revenue records show that the deed was passed to her on October 14, 2025. Other land plots in the same ward, under Plot Numbers 108, 111, 105, and 106, are also registered under Acharya’s name. These properties were brought under her ownership after being auctioned off by banks and financial institutions following third-party defaults. Police state that Giri was the financial source behind bringing these multi-million’s properties under sole ownership through bank auction processes.

Another plot of land measuring 336.63 square meters at Plot No. 6582 in Biratnagar Metropolitan City-6, Morang, was transferred to Acharya’s ownership on April 2, 2026. Furthermore, a piece of commercial land measuring 562.40 square meters at Plot No. 1263 in Dhankuta Municipality-5 (formerly Karkichhap), Dhankuta, is also registered under her name. This land was passed to Acharya on August 6, 2025. The CIB stated that a parallel investigation from a money laundering perspective is being conducted regarding the financial sources, banking transactions, and individuals involved in the purchase of all these properties.