Fake Bhutanese Refugee Case Hearing Continues in Kathmandu District Court

Kathmandu. The hearing of the fake Bhutanese refugee case has been ongoing in the Kathmandu District Court for five days, kept under observation. The case has been under the hearing of Judge Tej Bahadur Khadka's bench since last Jestha 27. The case, which was stalled for a long time, is about extorting large sums of money by making Nepali citizens fake Bhutanese refugees and sending them to countries like America. Since Jestha 27, the court has been continuously hearing the case by putting it on the daily cause list.

On Jestha 10, 2080, a case was filed in the Kathmandu District Court against former Deputy Prime Minister and UML leader Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, former Home Minister and Congress leader Balkrishna Khand, then Home Secretary Teknarayan Pandey, former MP Angtawa Sherpa, and former Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa's security advisor Indrajit Rai, along with 30 others, on charges of forgery, fraud, organized crime, and crimes against the state. The charge sheet claims that Nepali citizens were made Bhutanese refugees as per the plan of an organized gang by preparing documents.

In this case, key middlemen Keshav Dulal, his wife Deepa Humagain, another middleman Sanu Bhandari and Sandesh Sharma, as well as those working within the gang's network like Tankakumar Gurung, Mohanraj Rai, Niranjan Kumar Kharel, Keshav Tuladhar, middleman Haribhakta Maharjan, his wife Laxmi Maharjan, Rajesh Aryal, Binita Sabden Limbu, Sagar Rai, Ashish Budhathoki, Sunil Budhathoki, Ramsharan KC, Ashok Pokharel, Govindakumar Chaudhary, Dhiren Rai, Bechan Jha, and Bhutanese refugee leader Teknath Rizal were also charged with the same offense.

Of the 18 people arrested when the case was filed, 2 were sent to jail, and 16 others were released on bail, and the case proceeded. 12 people were absconding. Later, some of the absconding individuals were arrested, but some accused are still absconding.

On Jestha 9, 2081, a supplementary charge sheet was filed against Keshav Dulal and 5 others who were already defendants, and on Shrawan 4, 2081, against another suspect Bechan Jha on Shrawan 29, 2081. All three cases have been consolidated for hearing, except for the bail arguments and orders.

The bench of then District Judge Prem Prasad Neupane had ordered the arrested individuals to be kept in custody for trial, deeming them 'guilty based on the evidence obtained at the time'. Later, some accused were released on bail and bail from the High Court. Some are still in custody as the decisions of the district and high courts were upheld. The case was not prioritized in the previous two years, 2080 and 2081.

In the District Court, cases were registered against former Deputy Prime Minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, Rayamajhi's son Sandeep Rayamajhi, former Home Minister Balkrishna Khand, then Hajj Committee Chairman Shamsher Mian, then Home Minister Khand's personal secretary Narendra KC, then Home Secretary Teknarayan Pandey, then Constituent Assembly member Angtawa Sherpa, then Home Minister Thapa's son Pratik Thapa, then Home Minister Thapa's security advisor Indrajit Rai, and Rai's son Niraj Rai.