District Court Kathmandu Convicts Defendants in Fake Bhutanese Refugee Case

Kathmandu. The defendants accused in the fake Bhutanese refugee case have been convicted of their crimes. The District Court, Kathmandu pronounced the verdict on Tuesday. Sentencing will be determined on the next court date, according to an order from the bench of Judge Tej Bahadur Khadka. On Jestha 10, 2080, a case was filed at the District Court Kathmandu against former Deputy Prime Minister and UML leader Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, former Home Minister and Congress leader Balkrishna Khand, then Home Secretary Teknarayan Pandey, former MP Ang Tawa Sherpa, and former Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa's security advisor Indrajit Rai, among 30 others, for forgery, fraud, organized crime, and crimes against the state. The charge sheet claims that Nepali citizens were made Bhutanese refugees through fabricated documents as part of an organized gang's plan. In this case, main middlemen Keshav Dulal, his wife Deepa Humagain, another middleman Sanu Bhandari and Sandesh Sharma, as well as Tankakumar Gurung, Mohanraj Rai, Niranjan kumar Kharel, Keshav Tuladhar, who worked within the gang's network, middleman Haribhakta Maharjan, his wife Laxmi Maharjan, Rajesh Aryal, Binita Sabden Limbu, Sagar Rai, Ashish Budhathoki, Sunil Budhathoki, Ramsharan KC, Ashok Pokharel, Govindkumar Chaudhary, Dhiren Rai, Bechan Jha, and Bhutanese refugee leader Teknath Rizal were also charged with the same offense.