Hearing Postponed in Fake Bhutanese Refugee Case Involving Former Home Ministers as Court Records Damaged in Fire

The hearing for the case filed against former Home Ministers and other high-ranking officials accused of fabricating Bhutanese refugee identities to facilitate migration to the United States has been postponed. The case, pending at the Kathmandu District Court for two years regarding the Bhutanese refugees, could not proceed as the case file (misil) could not be retrieved after being damaged in a fire. Consequently, on Sunday, the bench of Judge Dhruvraj Karki issued an order to summon the evidence file.

Deepak Kumar Shrestha, the information officer for the Kathmandu District Court, informed that the bench issued the order to summon the evidence because some of the files pertaining to the accused, which were damaged in the arson incident on Bhadra 24 last year, could not be retrieved.

“The court has ordered the retrieval of the damaged file within seven days and to schedule the hearing,” Information Officer Shrestha told Ratopati. “During the hearing, it was found that all files were not available, so an order was issued to summon the files of the plaintiff and defendants that are yet to be received.” Once the files are obtained within seven days, the court will schedule a new date for the hearing.

The indictment claims that Nepali citizens were made Bhutanese refugees as part of a plan by an organized gang using forged documents. The District Court is preparing for the final hearing approximately 2.5 years after the case was filed against 30 individuals under five charges, including organized crime.

On Jestha 10, 2080, a case was filed at the Kathmandu District Court 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 then Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa, on charges of forgery, fraud, organized crime, and crime against the state.

A supplementary indictment was filed on Shrawan 29, 2081, against 5 individuals including Keshav Dulal, who was previously named as an accused, and on Shrawan 4, 2081, against another suspect, Bechan Jha. All three cases are being heard together, except for the bail arguments and orders.

Previously, the District Court had recorded the depositions of absent witnesses. The bench of the then District Court Judge Prem Prasad Neupane had ordered that the arrested individuals be held in custody to face trial based on “evidence immediately available showing them as culpable.” Later, some accused were released on bail or on personal guarantees by the High Court.

Some remain in custody after the decisions of the District and High Courts were upheld. The case did not receive priority over the past two years, 2080 and 2081. Previously, on Mangsir 28, the bench of Judge Dr. Diwakar Bhatta had issued an order to issue summonses in the names of the defendants.

The cases pending in the District Court are against former Deputy Prime Minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, Rayamajhi’s son Sandeep Rayamajhi, former Home Minister Balkrishna Khand, then Hajj Committee Chairman Shamsher Miyan, then Home Minister Khand’s private secretary Narendra KC, then Home Secretary Teknarayan Pandey, then Constituent Assembly member Angtewa Sherpa, then Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa’s son Pratik Thapa, then Home Minister Thapa’s security advisor Indrajit Rai, and Rai’s son Niraj Rai.

In this case, the cases filed against the main facilitators Keshav Dulal, his wife Deepa Humagai, another facilitator Sanu Bhandari and Sandesh Sharma, as well as those working within the gang’s network including Tankakumar Gurung, Mohanraj Rai, Niranjan Kumar Kharel, Keshav Tuladhar, facilitator Haribhakt Maharjan, his wife Laxmi Maharjan, Rajesh Aryal, Binita Sawden Limbu, Sagar Rai, Ashish Budhathoki, Sunil Budhathoki, Ramsharan KC, Ashok Pokhrel, Gobindkumar Chaudhary, Dhiren Rai, Bechan Jha, and Bhutanese refugee leader Teknath Rijal are also pending trial under the same charges.

When the case was filed, 18 people were arrested; 2 were released on bail while the remaining 16 were sent to custody to face trial. Twelve individuals were absconding. Although some absconding individuals have since been arrested, several accused remain at large.