Kathmandu — Former lawmaker Dhaka Kumar Shrestha, who was expelled from the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), has joined the Shram Sanskriti Party led by Harka Sampang. Shrestha was formally inducted into the party on Tuesday by party chair Sampang.
Announcing the development through social media, Sampang welcomed Shrestha to the party, writing, “Dhaka Kumar Shrestha is welcome to Shram Sanskriti. Let us now move forward together.”
Shrestha was elected to the House of Representatives under the proportional representation system. He was later expelled from the RSP following the emergence of an audio recording that triggered controversy.
The audio, which became public, allegedly captured Shrestha asking controversial medical entrepreneur Durga Prasai for NPR 20 million. Following the release of the recording, the RSP took disciplinary action and expelled Shrestha from both the party and his parliamentary position.
Shrestha was subsequently arrested in connection with a drug-related case. Police detained him after Prakash Thapa Magar, a resident of Rolpa currently living in Pokhara, was arrested with illegal drugs.
During police interrogation, Thapa Magar stated that he had purchased the drugs from a pharmacy located at Prithvi Chowk, Pokhara Metropolitan City–9, which he claimed was owned by Shrestha. Based on this statement, police took Shrestha into custody for further investigation.
