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By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, May 4: Secretary of the Nepal government Tek Narayan Pandey for the Office of Vice-President has been arrested on charge of being involved in the fraudulent business of sending Nepalis as Bhutanese refugees to America.

Nepal Police Spokesperson and Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Kuber Kadayat, talking to The Rising Nepal on Wednesday afternoon, claimed that the team of District Police Range, Kathmandu arrested Pandey from Pepsicola on Wednesday.

DIG Kadayat said, “Secretary Pandey has been arrested and kept in the District Police Range in Kathmandu on charge of fraud in the business of sending Nepalis as Bhutanese refugees to America, and the necessary investigation is underway.”

The police obtained an arrest warrant from the Kathmandu District Court on Tuesday to arrest Secretary Pandey.

Pandey was the Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs before working in the Office of the Vice President. When Pandey was the Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, it is alleged that he colluded with a gang that forged documents of Nepalis to make them Bhutanese refugees and to resettle them in the USA.

Meanwhile, an arrest warrant has been issued against CPN-UML secretary Top Bahadur Rayamajhi and his son Sandeep after being dragged into the case of fake Bhutanese refugees.

In order to investigate under the case, the Kathmandu Police Range received an arrest warrant against the former Deputy Prime Minister Rayamajhi and his son from the Kathmandu District Court on Wednesday, claimed Spokesperson and DIG Kuber Kadayat of the Police Headquarters. 

Police investigation officers in the case have been claiming that Sandeep took a cheque of Rs. 10 million. However, leader Rayamajhi has been refuting the allegation and has claimed that the cheque was not exchanged or withdrawn from the bank.

Earlier, Sanu Bhandari, one of the seven arrestees,  had given a statement to the police about the involvement of the son of former minister Rayamajhi.

According to SSP and Chief of Kathmandu Valley Crime Office Dr. Manoj KC, Bhandari has revealed the name of Sandeep Rayamajhi, son of former Minister on behalf of CPN-Maoist and now leader of CPN-UML Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, in the statement taken from Bhandari.

Cheque amount issued in the name of Sandeep worth Rs. 10.5 million has also been recovered during police investigation. Different cheques with different amounts had also been seized during the investigation, claimed police.

Hidden facts have been coming out one after another after the police on Tuesday detained security advisor to former Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa Badal, Indrajit Rai.

SSP KC said that the police had also recovered strong evidence of the involvement of receiving another Rs. 10.5 million cash in different dates by Dr. Indrajit Rai in a diary maintained by Bhandari.

The diary of Bhandari had been seized by the police on Tuesday, said SSP Dr. KC. In the diary of Bhandari, it is written, ‘Dr. Indrajit Sir received Rs. 10.5 million in three installments.’

According to police, so far 145 people have lodged complaints with the police on the allegation of deception by making fake identity cards to send them to America as Bhutanese refugees.

The number of complainants has reached 145, Head of Valley Crime Investigation Office Dr. KC said.

The victims filed a complaint with the police for the first time on June 1, 2022, saying that they were cheated in the name of sending them to America by creating refugee ID cards.

After the complaint was filed, the accused prevented themselves from 

being arrested saying that high officials were involved in the case.

Police investigations have revealed that the accused have cheated Rs. 400 million so far.

In the case, police have already detained Keshav Dulal, former personal secretary of former Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala, Sandesh Sharma of Dang, Sagar Rai of Morang, Tanka Gurung and Lalitpur’s Sanu Bhandari on the same charge.