The Bhutanese Leading the way.
In what is turning out to be a major scam involving top Nepalese politicians and bureaucrats and a criminal gang, many Nepalese citizens were promised to be sent as ‘Bhutanese refugees’ to settle in USA in exchange for large sums of money.
Reports by various Nepalese media outlets like Kathmandu Post, myrepublica and Himalayan Times over the past week show the matter came to light when many Nepalese citizens who paid millions to become ‘Bhutanese refugees’ for resettlement, but could not leave, filed complaints.
So far 106 Nepalese citizens from many district of Nepal who had paid Nepalese Rupees 232 million (mn) have lodged complaints.
The many victims of the case filed a case against a criminal group involved in this at the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority in late 2021 and Nepal’s Ministry of Home Affairs and Nepal Police launched its investigation in June 2022.
The Kathmandu Post said the group had allegedly been cheating people for the past five years by promising to fly them to the United States as Bhutanese refugees. It had allegedly swindled millions of rupees from over 1,000 people from different places in Nepal.
While the first arrests were of the gang members it soon escalated upwards as higher links were established.
The gangs and the senior officials were helping make fake documents and people who paid money were even being given identity cards as fake Bhutanese refugees. The aim was to push them into USA under the guise of ‘Bhutanese refugees’.
Police first arrested Indrajit Rai, a former MP and security adviser to former home minister Ram Bahadur Thapa.
The report by The Kathmandu Post says that the people who had been earlier arrested had said that Indrajit Rai and his son Neeraj (who fled the country) had allegedly taken more than Nepal Rs 50 mn from the group over the years in several instances.
After news on the arrest of Indrajit got out Nepal’s former Home Secretary and current secretary at the Vice President’s Office, Tek Narayan Pandey escaped from his house but was caught as he was also involved with the gangs.
An arrest warrant was issued against former Deputy Prime Minister and CPN-UML Secretary Top Bahadur Rayamajhi and his son Sandeep. However, while Sandeep has been caught his father is still on the run.
On Wednesday the former Home Minister and Nepali Congress leader Bal Krishna Khand and his personal aide Narendra KC were arrested by the police in connection to the case after their names were given up by the former Home Secretary.
The Hindu reported that on last Sunday, an audio tape purportedly between a member of the racket involved in the scam and a victim claimed that Arzu Rana Deuba wife of former Prime Minister and current NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba and Manju, wife of former Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand respectively were also paid by the racket.
A total 12 people have been arrested so far. While the people who could not go to the USA came forward to complain it is not clear how many Nepalese citizens have gotten resettled in the USA over the years disguised as ‘Bhutanese refugees.’
In the past Thimphu had expressed concerns over local Nepalese citizens joining the ranks of ‘Bhutanese refugees’ in Nepal, but it was dismissed by Nepal and other international stakeholders.
