KATHMANDU, AUGUST 1

A total of 15 people out of 16 who are currently in judicial custody in the fake Bhutanese refugee scam, including former deputy prime minister Top Bahadur Rayemajhi and former home minister Bal Krishna Khand, have appealed to Patan High Court seeking release from jail until final verdict.

Kathmandu District Court Judge Prem Prasad Neupane had previously ordered 16 out of 18 people initially arrested in this case to be sent to jail until the final verdict on June 16. Patan High Court Registrar Thagindra Kattel confirmed that the arrestees in the scam have filed individual writ petition against the order of Kathmandu District Court seeking their release.

PHC, after conducting the first hearing today, sought documents from KDC in the regard. Police have indicted high level political leaders, mafia and scammers who worked together to swindle millions from hundreds of Nepalis on the pretext of providing them with Bhutanese refugee certificate so that they could be relocated to foreign countries mostly the USA.

KDC likewise, upon hearing arguments from government attorneys, had decided to send the accused to judicial custody until the final verdict.

One person out of 16 in jail, Teknath Rijal, the human rights activist representing Bhutanese refugees has, however, not filed the writ petition seeking his release, as per the PHC. Other persons like former home secretary Tek Narayan Pandey, former lawmaker Aangtawa Sherpa, Sanu Bhandari, Keshav Dulal, Sagar Rai, Sandesh Sharma, Indrajit Rai, Sandip Rayamajhi, Narendra KC, Govinda Kumar Chaudhary, Ramsharan KC, Sumsher Miya and Hari Bhakta Maharjan, who are behind bars, have all filed the writ petition.

A version of this article appears in the print on August 2, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.