By Our Reporter
The Kathmandu District Court is likely to give its verdict on whether the 18 individuals arrested in the case related to the fake Bhutanese refugee scam will be released on bail or sent behind bars by June 14.
After the government attorneys completed their pleading on behalf of complainants on the fake Bhutanese refugee case at the Kathmandu District Court on Tuesday,
After the government attorneys completed pleadings on behalf of the prosecutors on Tuesday, the lawyers on the defendants’ side started pleading on Wednesday. The defendants’ side lawyers are given six days for pleading.
The bail hearing is being conducted at a single bench of District Judge Prem Prasad Neupane.
On the last day of the hearing, the public prosecutors presented the argument that if the defendants in this case were released on bail, the evidence may be destroyed and the security of the complaint lodgers may be at risk.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi of CPN-UML, former Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand and 16 others were arrested and presented before the court for a bail hearing. Of the 30 accused in the shameful case, 12 are still absconding.
It is said that the post-arrest debate will continue till June 14 and then a decision will be taken by the district judge whether or not to allow defendants to post bail and be released from jail for the duration of the trial of their case.
The Kathmandu District Attorney’s Office filed four cases against 30 persons and 18 of them are in police custody. They are facing the charge of organised crime, fraud, forgery, and crime against the state.
These persons have collected millions of rupees from several Nepali people promising them to send the USA as fake Bhutanese refugees. And the criminals were protected by politicians, powerful bureaucrats and even police officers. Besides, Rayamajhi and Khand, refugee leader Tek Nath Rijal and secretary of the Nepal government Tek Narayan Pandey have also been arrested. However, a few high-profile leaders including Arzu Rana, the spouse of Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba, Majnu Khand, wife of Bal Krishna Khand and Prem Rai, chairman of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority, whose names were mentioned by a few of the 18 arrested persons, were not arrested citing lack of evidence.
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