The Kathmandu District Court has convicted 15 defendants, including former deputy prime minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, former home minister Bal Krishna Khand, and former home secretary Tek Narayan Pandey, in the fake Bhutanese refugee scam.
A bench of Judge Tej Bahadur Khadka delivered the verdict on Tuesday, finding the defendants guilty on various charges and ordering them to be presented for sentencing, according to Shiva Khatiwada, the court's information officer.
On May 24, 2023, government prosecutors had filed charges against 30 individuals, including Rayamajhi, Khand, and Pandey, accusing them of fraud, document forgery, crimes against the state, and organized crime.
According to the full text of the judgment provided by information officer Khatiwada, seven defendants have been acquitted.
Those acquitted are Ram Sharan KC, Tanka Kumar Gurung, Sandeep Rayamajhi, Prateek Thapa, Laxmi Maharjan, Keshav Tuladhar, and Ashish Budhathoki.
The court found former deputy prime minister Rayamajhi guilty of crimes against the state, fraud, and organized crime.
Former home minister Khand was found guilty as an accomplice in those same offenses.
Former home secretary Pandey was convicted of fraud, organized crime, and crimes against the state.
The court also found Bhutanese refugee leader Tek Nath Rizal guilty of forging official government documents and acting as an accomplice in fraud, organized crime, and crimes against the state.
In addition, the court convicted alleged masterminds Sanu Bhandari and Keshav Dulal of forging official documents, fraud, organized crime, and crimes against the state.
The court will determine the sentences for those convicted in a subsequent hearing.
Others convicted, either as principal offenders or accomplices, include Sagar Rai, Sandesh Sharma, Dr Indrajit Rai, Govinda Kumar Chaudhary (also known as Bikram), Ang Tawa Sherpa, Narendra KC, Shamsher Miya, Hari Bhakta Maharjan, and Niranjan Kumar Kharel.
The court stated that the cases against the remaining eight defendants have been kept pending as they are currently absconding.
Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that 23 defendants have been convicted.
