Kathmandu: The Nepali Congress Parliamentary Party’s meeting has concluded that the decision to seize a quintal gold smuggling case must be made by government agencies. Although some leaders in the party demanded the formation of a high-level investigation committee, the parliamentary party meeting concluded that the formation of such a committee is unnecessary.

Publicly announcing the decisions of the meeting, Chief Whip Ramesh Lekhak stated that the government agencies should effectively carry out the investigation into the case of quintal gold smuggling.

“The case of quintal gold smuggling from Tribhuvan International Airport has drawn serious attention. The smuggling of gold from a monitored area is a grave issue. Such illegal activities need to be stopped. Even if someone is affiliated with it, legal action must be taken. Government agencies must conduct a proper investigation, and the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB ) of Nepal Police must also seize the case,” he said.

During the program, secretary general Gagan Kumar Thapa and iBshwaprakash Sharma addressed the gathering. Thapa maintained that the state institutions should not lose trust, and the state agencies must handle the case of quintal gold smuggling. ‘We trust the state institutions; we will not express a vote of no confidence. He also said that the Central Investigation Bureau of Police should investigate former Speaker and Maoist Vice Chairman Krishna Bahadur Mahara. ‘Maoist official meeting has asked Krishna Bahadur Mahara to clarify. This is not what the party meeting said, the CIB should investigate,’ he said.

The quintal gold smuggling case from Tribhuvan International Airport, which took place on Shrawan 2, 2080BS, was to be seized by state institutions. Another former Secretary General Sharma’s opinion was that the officers who carry out the seizure should be well-educated and trained. ‘ The officers who will conduct the seizure, are well-educated and have excellent training. Ultimately, they will be the ones to do it,” said Sharma.

The main opposition party UML has been obstructing the parliament saying that a high-level investigation committee should be formed into the gold smuggling case. Even within the Nepali Congress parliamentary party, some members expressed the same views as the opposition UML.