KATHMANDU, MAY 23

Kathmandu District Court has extended the judicial custody of all 16 accused in the Bhutanese refugees scam by two more days.

The court granted custody allowing government attorneys to prepare the chargesheet against 33 people accused of involvement in the scam, where hundreds of Nepalis were scammed with the promise they would be sent to foreign countries like the US and Canada.

Kathmandu District Government Attorney Office, now must register the case in court in the next two days. In two days, the 60 days time limitation to hold any person under organised crime will come to end, and police must free them if the charge sheet is not filed.

The accused, including former deputy prime minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, former home minister Bal Krishna Khand and the sitting government secretary Tek Narayan Pandey, among others, are in judicial custody for their alleged involvement in the crime. Police, after completing its nearly two-month long investigation submitted its report to the government attorneys, recommending that charge sheet be filedunder fraud, organised crime and offence against the state.

More than 100 people had filed at least 20 police complaints with the police saying middlemen swindled millions from them.

The involvement of high level political leaders and government employees came to the surface after the middlemen against whom the police complaint was filed revealed their names to the police.

Police have also recommended that the government attorneys to seek principal amount of Rs 270 million from the accused.