Pokhara, April 22

Gandaki Medical College Chairperson Khuma Aryal has been freed on bail.

Aryal, who had been on the run ever since an arrest warrant was issued against him over the fleecing of students, had presented himself at the court today with legal professionals before he was released following the order of Kaski District Court by posting a bail of Rs 1.7 million.

According to court Registrar Loknath Parajuli, a single bench of district judge Lalkaji Shrestha had issued the order following a trial that had seen senior advocates Krishna Bahadur Thapa, Nirmal Kumar Karki and Deepak Poudel arguing on Aryal’s behalf.

The court has cited an agreement to the effect that the college will reimburse the amount it had overcharged from students and lack of evidence showing that the money charged in excess from students was deposited in Aryal’s bank account to release him on bail.

Further, the court has also reckoned that the FIR filed is only against operators and staff, not the college.

Earlier, students at the college on different dates had filed FIR, accusing the college of charging them more than recommended by the government.

According to the students, the medical college had charged up to Rs 1.5 million extra from each MBBS student despite the fact that the government has fixed 4.2 million rupees as the total fee for the four-year MBBS course for medical colleges operating outside the valley.