Court Orders Release of Middleman in Visit Visa Irregularity Case on NPR 500,000 Bail

Kathmandu. The Special Court has ordered the release of middleman Balkrishna Khadka on a bail of NPR 500,000 in the case involving the collection of hundreds of thousands of rupees in the visit visa scandal.

On Tuesday, the bench comprising Special Court judges Narayan Prasad Poudel, Dilliratna Shrestha, and Bidur Koirala ordered the release of Khadka, the operator of Greenline Holidays Pvt. Ltd., on bail.

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had filed a case against six individuals, including Joint Secretary Tirtharaj Bhattarai, on the 25th of Mangsir. Bhattarai, who is an accused in the case, has already been released on a bail of five lakh rupees.

The CIAA investigation revealed that Khadka used to find people going on visit visas, and Bhattarai would issue the necessary departure permits accordingly. The investigation uncovered that over NPR 5 million was being collected daily at immigration through this scheme. Regular WhatsApp communication and financial transactions were observed between Joint Secretary Bhattarai and middleman Khadka.

In this case, the CIAA is conducting a second phase of investigation involving the then Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, Secretary Gokarmani Duwadi, Lekhak's PAs Badri Tiwari and Janak Bhatta, then Director General of the Department of Immigration Govinda Rijal, and other officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs.