Death in Rastriya Swatantra Party of Rabi, Balen and Toshima

The driver associated with the case involving Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSP) chair Rabi Lamichhane in April 2023 was Dil Bahadur Thapa, also known as Shambhu. 

Key Details of the Incident:

• Incident: 39-year-old Dil Bahadur Thapa was found injured after falling from the roof of a three-story house in Bharatpur-11, Chitwan, where Lamichhane was residing, on the morning of April 17, 2023.
• Death: Thapa succumbed to his injuries on May 2, 2023, while undergoing treatment at Nepal Mediciti Hospital in Lalitpur.
• Police Investigation: According to police, investigations indicated that Thapa had consumed alcohol and likely fell from the roof in an inebriated state.
• Outcome: The incident was treated as an accidental death, and no criminal involvement or foul play was found. 

Thapa was a driver for Lamichhane and had been staying in the same building during the by-election campaign in Chitwan. 

Journalist Dinesh Sitaula, a former president of the Film Journalists Association of Nepal, passed away on February 1, 2026, after collapsing during an election campaign for the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) in Achham. 

Key Details of the Case

• Incident: On Friday, January 30, Sitaula suddenly fainted and hit his head while getting out of a vehicle in Mangalsen, Achham. He was accompanying RSP senior leader and former Kathmandu Mayor Balendra (Balen) Shah on a regional outreach tour.
• Medical Emergency: He was initially rushed to Achham District Hospital with no pulse or spontaneous breathing. After 15 minutes of CPR, his circulation was restored, and he was airlifted by a Nepal Army helicopter to Grande International Hospital in Kathmandu.
• Death: Despite intensive care, he suffered severe hypoxic brain injury and hemorrhage. He was declared dead on Sunday afternoon after failing an apnea test.
• Post-Mortem: Police have ordered a post-mortem at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital to rule out any future disputes or rumors regarding the cause of death, citing it as a procedural measure for “unnatural death”. 

Background

• Professional Life: Sitaula (45) was a long-time cinema journalist, the editor-in-chief of The Cinema Times, and a former host on Nepal Television.
• Political Role: While a journalist by trade, he was participating in the campaign as a dedicated cadre/member of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) supporting Balen Shah. 

In recent months, the “Raswapa” (Rastriya Swatantra Party – RSP) and its leadership have been at the center of several legal and ethical cases involving journalists and the media. 

1. Rabi Lamichhane’s Cooperative Fraud Case 

The most significant “case” involves the party’s Chairman, Rabi Lamichhane, who was a prominent journalist (managing director of Galaxy 4K TV) before entering politics. 

• The Charges: Lamichhane faces allegations of misusing cooperative funds. Specifically, he is accused of illegally funneling funds from several credit cooperatives to operate the now-defunct Galaxy 4K channel.
• Current Status: In December 2025, the Parsa District Court ordered him to furnish a bail amount of Rs 1 Crore in connection with the Sano Paila Savings and Credit Cooperative case. He has also been investigated in Pokhara, Kathmandu, and Chitwan.
• Party Reaction: The RSP maintains that the charges are politically motivated harassment by the ruling coalition. The party launched a nationwide signature campaign in July 2025 to protest his imprisonment. 

2. Mistreatment of Journalists by RSP Members

There have been specific instances where the party or its supporters have been accused of harassing active journalists: 

• Udayapur Incident (August 2025): The Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) condemned the mistreatment of Rakesh Nepali, a correspondent for Kantipur Publications, during a municipal convention of the RSP.
• Media Criticism: Following his exit from the government, Rabi Lamichhane held a high-profile press conference where he “vented ire” on several editors and media owners, accusing them of unfair targeting. 

3. Support for Kailash Sirohia’s Arrest (May 2024)

The RSP and Lamichhane (then Home Minister) were central to the controversial arrest of Kailash Sirohia, the Chairman of Kantipur Media Group. 

• While the government cited citizenship issues for the arrest, media watchdogs viewed it as a retaliatory move because Kantipur had been reporting extensively on Lamichhane’s alleged involvement in the cooperative scam. 

4. Historical Context: Salikram Pudasaini Case (2019)

While not a current “Raswapa” case, this event shaped the party’s origin.

• Lamichhane was arrested in 2019 in connection with the suicide of his former colleague, journalist Salikram Pudasaini.
• Pudasaini left a video suicide note accusing Lamichhane of abetting his suicide. Lamichhane was later acquitted, a victory that boosted his popularity and eventually led to the formation of the RSP.