FAKE BHUTANESE REFUGEE SCAM
KATHMANDU, MAY 4
CPN-UML Chief Oli defends Top Bahadur Rayamajhi's involvement in refugee scam
Kathmandu District Court today ordered three days of judicial custody for Sandeep Rayamajhi, son of former energy minister and CPN-UML Secretary Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, in connection with the fake Bhutanese refugee scam.
Sandeep was arrested in Butwal last night and flown to Kathmandu this morning. At noon, police took him to the Kathmandu District Court.
Police, however, have not been able to arrest Top Bahadur Rayamajhi and Prateek Thapa, son of former home minister Ram Bahadur Thapa, against whom the court had issued arrest warrant yesterday.
Superintendent of Police Sitaram Rijal, spokesperson for Metropolitan Police Range, Kathmandu, told THT that police were still looking for them, and would arrest them as soon as they got information.
Meanwhile, Chair of CPN-UML KP Sharma Oli defended the involvement of Top Bahadur Rayamajhi in the scam. He said the case was not only mysterious but he could have been framed.
Oli had gone to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's office today to discuss the issues. Talking to mediapersons outside the PM's office later, Oli said handcuffing a sitting Member of Parliament and a former minister while walking on the road was mysterious. Top Bahadur Rayamajhi was in his home district of Arghakhanchi when police went to arrest him. However, he was not arrested.
"We are studying the case and trying to find the culprit and those who are being framed. We will see if someone is deliberately being dragged into the case," Oli said. He further said, "No culprit should go unpunished while no innocent should be indicted."
Police had found the name of Top Bahadur Rayamajhi in the diary of racketeers who had mentioned the names of top political leaders and government employees who they had paid money. Based on the same evidence and information revealed by the arrested racketeers, police had sought his arrest warrant from the court. Similarly, son of former home minister Ram Bahadur Thapa, Prateek Thapa, issuing a press release said he was unaware of any such scam. "A fake accusation has been filed against me with ill-intention," he said. He, however, said he was ready to help police in the investigation, if needed.
A racket of this scale was masterminded by thugs and middlemen after July 2019 when the government led Bal Krishna Panthi, the then joint secretary of MoHA, to study and gather evidence about those who were left out of the Bhutanese refugee registration process with a purpose to repatriate them to third countries, mainly the US.
The racketeers had allegedly swindled Rs 1 million to Rs 5 million from 875 Nepalis with the promise that their names would be incorporated under the title of 'those who missed registration' and 'those interested in rehabilitation in a third country.'
However, after paying hefty amount and waiting for a long time, they had gone to the police in mid-June 2022. At least 20 police cases were filed by more than 100 victims of the scam. Following their complaint, three major racketeers - Sanu Bhandari, Tek Gurung and Keshav Dulal - were arrested, who later revealed the link of powerful political leaders in the case.
A version of this article appears in the print on May 5, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
