KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 17

The travel documents of 246 out of more than 1500 youths going abroad on visit visa were found fake, the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office said.

The Office stated that people are found to have been sent abroad on visit visa by preparing fake documents like this with the involvement of the government employees themselves. Most of those who have gone to foreign countries through this collusion are found to go for work rather than for visiting purpose, it is said.

Police had initiated the investigation into the suspected documents since last Asoj (September 18 to October 17) itself. The documents of 1,512 people were studied in course of the investigation and of them the documents like certificates, labour and relation certification, police report and bank details of 246 people were found to be forged, said Office spokesperson and Superintendent Rabindra Regmi.

Investigation carried out to identify the people making such documents and how people are sent abroad on the basis of counterfeit documents found that all these fake documents were prepared through complicity, he added.

The Office said it was found in course of investigation that the agent, consultancy, travel agency in connivance with the government employees, gave money in the range of Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 per person to the airlines, and Rs 40,000 to Rs 55,000 per person to the employees at the immigration to send people abroad.

On the basis of this, the police arrested more than 35 persons, including the agents and employees of travels, airlines and immigration involved in the collusion on various dates and initiated necessary action against them on the charge of organized crime and forging documents.

Police arrested Narabir Khadka, an officer at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), Immigration Office, in this connection and it was found through investigation that he had sent 300 people abroad in collusion like this.

Police Range Teku has arrested Manoj Tamang, proprietor of Nima Chhiring Travels, and his brother-in-law Padam Lama who works at the same Travels. Police are carrying out investigations against the two on crime related to preparing fake documents.

Similarly, Arabinda Yadav and Hom Pokharel of Nepal Airlines, Manuram Chaudhary of the Travel Agency, Dinesh Gyawali of Sky Travels and Tours and Ganesh Pandey, Sanjaya Tamang, Ram Prasad Bhandari, Saroj Kumar Yadav, Raj Kishor Shah, Rabin Aryal, including Devraj Khanal of Royal Travels have been apprehended in this connection and action initiated against them on the charge of their involvement in that connection.