Hearing Begins in Nepal on Case Against Former Ministers Over Fake Bhutanese Refugee Scandal

Kathmandu. The hearing is set to begin at the Kathmandu District Court for the case filed against former Home Minister and other high-ranking officials accused of facilitating the fraudulent process of sending Nepali citizens abroad under the guise of Bhutanese refugees. The case has been scheduled for hearing in the bench of District Judge Dhruvraj Karki.

The indictment alleges that Nepali citizens were made Bhutanese refugees as part of a planned operation by an organized gang using forged documents. The District Court is commencing the final hearing nearly two and a half years after the case was filed against 30 individuals, including former Deputy Prime Minister and UML leader Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, former Home Minister and Congress leader Balkrishna Khand, then Home Secretary Teknarayan Pandey, former lawmaker Angtewa Sherpa, and Indrajit Rai, security advisor to the then Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa, on charges of forgery, fraud, organized crime, and crimes against the state.

A supplementary indictment was filed on 29 Shrawan 2081 against five individuals, including Keshav Dulal, who was previously named as a defendant on 9 Baisakh 2081, and against another suspect, Bechan Jha, on 4 Shrawan 2081. All three cases will be heard together, excluding the custody arguments/orders.

Previously, the District Court had recorded the testimonies of absent witnesses. The bench of then District Judge Prem Prasad Neupane had ordered that the arrested individuals be held in custody to proceed with the trial, deeming them 'guilty based on immediate evidence.' Later, some accused were released on bail or on personal bonds by the High Court. Some remain in custody following confirmation of the decisions by both the District and High Courts. The case did not receive priority in the previous two years, 2080 and 2081. Prior to this, on Mangsir 28 last year, the bench of Judge Dr. Diwakar Bhatta had ordered the issuance of summons to the defendants.

The case currently pending in the District Court involves former Deputy Prime Minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, his son Sandeep Rayamajhi, former Home Minister Balkrishna Khand, then Hajj Committee Chairman Shamsher Miyan, Narendra KC, private secretary to then Home Minister Khand, then Home Secretary Teknarayan Pandey, then Constituent Assembly member Angtewa Sherpa, Prateek Thapa, son of then Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa, and Indrajit Rai, security advisor to then Home Minister Thapa, along with Rai's son, Niraj Rai.

In this case, the proceedings are also pending against the two main middlemen, Keshav Dulal and his wife Deepa Humagain, another middleman Sanu Bhandari and Sandesh Sharma, as well as those working within the gang's network: Tankumar Gurung, Mohanraj Rai, Niranjan Kumar Kharel, Keshav Tuladhar, middleman Haribhakt Maharjan and his wife Laxmi Maharjan, Rajesh Aryal, Binita Sawden Limbu, Sagar Rai, Ashish Budhathoki, Sunil Budhathoki, Ramsharan KC, Ashok Pokhrel, Gobinda Kumar Chaudhary, Dhiren Rai, Bechan Jha, and Bhutanese refugee leader Teknath Rijal, all facing the same charges. Out of the 18 individuals arrested when the case was first filed, 2 were released on bail and the remaining 16 were sent to custody to proceed with the trial. Twelve individuals were absconding. While some of the absconding individuals have since been arrested, several accused remain at large.