Bhutanese Refugee Scam: Former Deputy PM Rayamajhi Jailed for Four Years, Ex-Home Minister Khand Gets Two-Year Term
The court also sentenced Bhutanese refugee rights activist Teknath Rijal to two years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 after finding him guilty of misusing government documents, fraud, and involvement in organized crime.
KATHMANDU:- The Kathmandu District Court has handed down prison sentences to several individuals convicted in the high-profile Bhutanese refugee scam, including former Deputy Prime Minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi and former Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand.
In a verdict delivered by a single bench of Judge Tej Bahadur Khadka on Tuesday, former Deputy Prime Minister and CPN-UML leader Rayamajhi was sentenced to four years in prison and fined Rs 40,000 after being found guilty of offences including abuse of authority, forgery of government documents, fraud, and organized crime.
Former Home Minister and Nepali Congress leader Bal Krishna Khand was sentenced to two years in prison and fined Rs 20,000 on similar charges.
The court also sentenced Bhutanese refugee rights activist Teknath Rijal to two years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 after finding him guilty of misusing government documents, fraud, and involvement in organized crime.
Likewise, Keshav Prasad Dulal, Gyanu Bhandari, Sagar Rai, Sandesh Sharma, Dr. Indrajit Rai, Govinda Kumar Chaudhary, Angdeva Sherma, and Tanka Narayan Pandey were each sentenced to four years in prison and fined Rs 40,000.
In the same case, Shamsher Miya, Haribhakta Maharjan, Niranjan Kumar Kharel, and Narendra KC received one-year prison terms along with fines of Rs 10,000 each.
The Bhutanese refugee scam came to light after an organized network was accused of collecting large sums of money from Nepali citizens by falsely promising to send them to the United States as resettled Bhutanese refugees using forged government documents.
