Kathmandu, Aug,13 (IANS) Former Nepali Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Thursday returned home to a rousing welcome from his supporters at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, five months after he had left for Singapore to get a “medical check-up".

A large crowd of leaders and party workers, including former office-bearers of the party — then acting President Purna Bahadur Khadka, Krishna Prasad Sitaula, Prakash Man Singh, Bimalendra Nidhi and Prakash Sharan Mahat, among others welcomed Deuba as he arrived at the airport via Thailand.

Supporters chanted slogans in support of Deuba who is facing both legal and political challenge at home as he was ousted by the contested Special General Convention in January.

Deuba had left the country on February 25 for Singapore, reportedly for a “medical check-up”, and stayed abroad for months as he faced a money-laundering investigation after large amounts of cash were seen being burnt by protesters at his residence during the GenZ movement in September last year.

Nepali authorities have already frozen his domestic assets and bank accounts as part of the ongoing investigation.

Days after the current government, led by Prime Minister Balendra Shah, came to power, arrest warrants were issued against Deuba and his wife at the request of the Department of Money Laundering Investigation.

The Nepali government had earlier made an unsuccessful attempt to have a Red Corner Notice issued in his name by Interpol while he was abroad.

The Supreme Court subsequently annulled the arrest warrant on May 25, which possibly led Deuba to decide to return home.

His return comes at a time when his party is moving towards a possible split, with his faction scheduled to organise a national gathering of cadres in Kathmandu on Friday.

Former General Secretary of the party Shashanka Koirala is leading the effort to hold the separate gathering, as the faction remains hopeful that the Supreme Court will invalidate the party’s Special General Convention held in January, which elected a new Central Working Committee headed by Gagan Thapa as president, replacing then-incumbent President Deuba.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had legitimised the Special General Convention, allowing the grand old party to contest the elections under Thapa’s leadership.

The party subsequently suffered a humiliating defeat in the March 5 elections, prompting sharp criticism of Thapa’s leadership from the Deuba faction.

The faction had sought a review of the Supreme Court’s April 17 verdict that granted legitimacy to the Thapa-led faction.

Last week, however, the Supreme Court allowed the review petition, sending the case back for a fresh hearing before a three-judge bench. The outcome of the new hearing will determine the party’s official status.

Although his return could energise his faction within the party, it remains unclear how the state will treat him given the ongoing investigation against him and his wife, former Foreign Minister Arzu Deuba, who accompanied him abroad.

His wife and son, Jayabir, have not returned home from abroad. Deuba and his wife, who were badly beaten by protesters during the Gen-Z movement last year, left the country citing medical treatment, but their prolonged stay abroad remained unexplained.

The couple has not publicly disclosed details of their movements abroad, nor have they specified what ailments the former Prime Minister was being treated for.

During this period, they were believed to have moved from Singapore to Hong Kong. Videos of the Deubas strolling in Hong Kong have surfaced on social media from time to time, although the couple never explicitly confirmed that they were in Hong Kong.

More significantly, questions remain over who financed their extended stay and medical treatment. These questions have assumed greater significance amid the ongoing money-laundering investigation into the Deuba family.

--IANS

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