Police crackdown on fake WFP office after millions swindled from public

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, July 25: The Kathmandu Police on Monday has cracked down on an organised gang found involved in operating a fake office of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Budhanikantha, Kathmandu.

In an operation of the Kathmandu District Police Range and Police Circle, Maharajgunj, police raided a fake office of the WFP operated by renting a two-storey building belonging to Bishnu Bahadur Gurung in Budhanilkantha Municipality-5, Kathmandu. 

Organising a press meet on Monday, the Kathmandu District Police Range Chief and SSP Dan Bahadur Karki said that two persons were arrested after they were found to have cheated people by opening the fake office of WFP and operating its programme under the stamp of “International Food Security Programme, Nepal.”

Among those arrested are 47-year-old Ghanshyam Katwal of Sindhupalchowk and temporary resident of Gokarneshwar Municipality and 40-year-old Leela Bahadur Ghalan alias Dinesh of Budhanilkanth-5 of Bagmati Rural Municipality-9 of Makwanpur.

Bhim Bholan, Milan Tamang, and Pemba Tamang of Makwanpur are absconding. 

According to the police, national flag, letter pad of WFP and other materials were also recovered from the fake office.

According to the police, the detainees had set up a fake office of WFP since May 15, 2023. 

According to SSP Karki, it has been found that Ghanshyam Katwal, under the name of Jayaram KC, declared himself the under secretary and sat in the office as the chief.

Similarly, KC has been found to have appointed Pemba Tamang as branch officer, Akash Rai as public relations officer and Dipesh Gurung as technical engineer, said Karki. “But these are all fake names.” 

Dipesh’s real name is Bhim Bholan and Akash’s Milan Tamang. 

According to the police, they had opened a tender for various materials in a newspaper (Rajdhani Daily) in the name of WFP. The victims went to the police after the bids for furniture, computers and other materials were not paid.

At that time, when the team of Police Circle, Maharajgunj started investigating, it was found that the office itself was fake. 

According to SSP Karki, Shankar Aryal had given his Scorpio van on hire by trusting the members. The gang has cheated Rs. 612,500 from him.

House owner Bishnu Bahadur Gurung has also lodged a complaint with the police, saying that the office had not paid rent amounting Rs. 180,000 per month. 

Hari Prasad Aryal has also been cheated after he won the bids as called in the newspaper and giving them desktop computers, laptops and other items. His bid acceptance letter worth Rs. 4.8 million was signed on a fake office letter pad.

Of the total tender bill, the office of Hari Prasad Aryal had also already supplied stationery worth Rs. 836,000 to the office. The office had also bought stationeries amount Rs. 85,000 from Nabaraj Pandey. 

During police investigation, it was also found that Katwal, who is currently in police custody, has been involved in fraud before this.

According to the records, Katwal was 

arrested on July 10, 2020 by the team of the then Metropolitan Police Crime Division on charge of defrauding people by claiming to be the head of an international non-governmental organization in Nepal.

At that time, he was accused of defrauding Tokha’s Hiramaya Tamang of Rs. 2 million under the project named Rural Development Project amounting Rs. 50 million and lured her to make a member by allowing 50 per cent shares of the project office. 

Police officers said that after he was released from jail, he was again found involved in fraud. 

According to SSP Karki, it has also been found that he has cheated people in various districts of Terai saying that he is ex-Chief District Officer, ex-Inspector General of Police, ex-Secretary and Under Secretary.

“Katwal, who was arrested from Bhaktapur; we have received remand order of five days for the investigation into the crime under fraud,” said SSP Karki.