December 8: Krishna Gopal Agrawal, who is allegedly the main investor of the 33.5 kilogram gold scam, has been released on bail.

District Court Judge Bharat Lamsal of Morang on Tuesday issued an order to release Agrawal on a bail of Rs 200,000.

District Court official Tikendra Bir Jung Rana told New Business Age that Agrawal, who is also known as Kale, posted the bail amount and was released as per the judge’s order.

Investigations had revealed that Agrawal was the main investor involved in smuggling gold into Nepal via Tribhuvan International Airport. The gold imported through the airport customs went missing and a carrier named Saman Shakya of Urlabari was killed by the smugglers’ group allegedly led by Chudamani Upreti. Eight people including Upreti have convicted of Shakya’s murder and sent to prison. He was deported to Nepal from the UAE with support from INTERPOL. Others accused in the scam have been released by the court. Cases were filed against a total of 77 people including high-ranking police officials  in connection to this case. While convicting the eight people involved in the crime, the District Court Morang released 48 others.