By Our Reporter
Until November 4, 2022, Nepali Congress leader and the then Home Minister Khand was probably one of the most popular politicians in Nepal. Then no one had imagined that he would end up in jail in the shameful case of changing genuine Nepal nationals into fake Bhutanese refugees. But the powerful man who lost the election to RPP leader Deepak Bohora is now doing his days in the central jail together with UML secretary and former deputy prime minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi.
From the moment that first thing goes wrong, it seems like everything else just goes downhill with it. And Khand experienced this after the initial hearing on the fake Bhutanese refugee case that ended on Friday last week at the Kathmandu District Court ordered a jail sentence for 16 of the 18 arrested defendants. A single bench of Judge Prem Prasad Neupane ordered that the 16 defendants be sent to judicial custody and two others be released on bail.
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.
Former Home Secretary Tek Narayan Pandey, Bhutanese refugee leader Tek Nath Rizal, Indrajit Rai, 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 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.
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