Court sends 16 defendants to judicial custody

Kathmandu, June 17: The initial hearing on the fake Bhutanese refugee case ended on Friday at the Kathmandu District Court, ordering judicial detention to 16 of the 18 arrested defendants. 

A bench of judge Prem Prasad Neupane ordered that the 16 defendants be sent to judicial custody and two others be released on bail.   

As per the order, 16 defendants, including UPN-UML’s now-suspended party secretary Top Bahadur Rayamajhi and Bal Krishna Khand, leader of the Nepali Congress were sent to judicial custody, Deepak Dahal, information officer at the District Court, told after the end of the last day of pleading.

The judge has, however, ordered the release of Laxmi Maharjan and hotelier Tanka Gurung by charging bail amounts of Rs. 500,000 and Rs. 1 million respectively.

Similarly, former Home Secretary Tek Narayan Pandey, Bhutanese refugee leader Tek Nath Rizal, Indrajit Rai, a former Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa Badal’s security advisor, Chairman of Haj Committee Nepal Shumsher Miya, a former lawmaker Angtawa Sherpa of Nepali Congress, the then Home Minister Khand’s private secretary Narendra KC and Top Bahadur Rayamajhi’s son Sandeep Rayamajhi were also sent to jail for a trail. 

Keshav Dulal, Sanu Bhandari, Sandesh Sharma, Sagar Rai, Govinda Chaudhary and Ram Sharan KC, who are known as middlemen, were also ordered to be sent to jail.

Hotelier Tanka Gurung and Laxmi Maharjan of Lalitpur have been released after submitting Rs. 1 million and Rs. 500,000 as bail amounts respectively. 

Similarly, Hari Bhakta Maharjan, husband of Laxmi Maharjan, was also sent to a jail. 

Pratik Thapa, son of former Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa ‘Badal’, and Niraj Rai, son of security advisor Indrajit Rai, have been at large. An arrest warrant has also been issued against them.

Similarly, Keshav Tuladhar, Ashok Pokhrel, Dhiren Rai, Mohan Rai, Deepa Humagain, Sunil Budhathoki, Binita Limbu, Niranjan Kumar Kharel, Rajesh Aryal and Ashish Budhathoki are also on the absconding list.

District Government Attorney Office (DGAO), Kathmandu had filed five different cases against 18 arrested and 12 absconding persons.

The DGAO had filed cases of fraud, organized crime, forgery and offense against the state against them on May 24 on the basis of the investigation report submitted by the police.

A charge sheet of 224 pages was filed in District Court Kathmandu against the defendants.

In the case, the District Police Range, Kathmandu had sought Rs. 280 million worth of compensation from the defendants.

On Friday, Chief of the District Government Attorney Office, Joint Attorney, Achyut Mani Neupane, District Attorney Laxman Upadhyaya Ghimire, District Attorney Mahes Prasad Khatri and Assistant Attorney Nirmala Marasini pleaded at the Kathmandu District Court.