KATHMANDU, AUGUST 4

Swami Bishnu Prapannacharya, whose original name is Bijaya Bhandari, said today that he would start returning the money he collected from Nepali Sanskrit scholars and students.

He said he has now realised it is not possible to send Nepali nationals to the US without visa via Canada.

The Swami has admitted he raised Rs 100,000 each from seven Nepalis and had mortgaged the land of 10 others intending to participate in a 29-month-long religious marathon beginning April 2013 in Colorado.

Swami Bishnu is a trustee of Shree Human Welfare Spiritual Charitable Federation of Nepal, which claims to be an official representative for the marathon in question.

After news about his invovlement in the unauthorised collection of money from many Nepali students and scholars in Indian cities and Nepal for the purported participantion in International Democratic Educational Conference (IDEC) 2103 was published in the Himalayan Times, Swami Bishnu passed the buck to his guru Nitya Bihari Das in India and said he would return the money to the concerned people soon. IDEC had written to The Himalayan Times that it had no relation with Swami Bishnu, his organization and Swami Nitya Bihari.

'I belived him, and collected the money under his instruction. After IDEC said they didn't have such a programme, I found myself in a difficult situation. I will collect the money deposited to Swami Nitya Bihari and retun it to the people I had accepted from.'

He claimed that he did not intend to swindle people. 'If I were a fraud, why would I issue receipts signed by me?'

He claimed that the conspiracies were being hetched against him and Hindu community leaders, but he denied to elaborate.

Threat to journo

Kathmandu: An unknown person called up THT scribe Keshav P Koirala from 9817450141 on Friday night and said that he needed to meet him, saying the latter had committed a mistake. 'I have heard you have made a mistake and I need to make a deal' he said.

When asked what that meant, the person who identified himself as Avinash Chaturvedi, said that the matter would be clear when they met.