The Kathmandu District Court on Tuesday convicted former home minister Bal Krishna Khand only as an accomplice, rather than a principal offender, in the fake Bhutanese refugee scam.
While the verdict delivered, by a bench of Judge Tej Bahadur Khadka found 15 individuals, including former deputy prime minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, former home secretary Tek Narayan Pandey, and Bhutanese refugee leader Tek Nath Rizal guilty of various offenses, Khand's conviction as an accomplice has drawn particular attention.
The court found Khand to be an accomplice in fraud, organized crime, offenses against the state, and integrated offenses. However, the judgment said that Khand was not found to have been involved in the formation of the committee tasked with re-verifying Bhutanese refugees. It also said that no evidence was found of his involvement in the forgery of government documents. He was therefore acquitted of the forgery charge.
The court has scheduled the sentencing hearing in the case for July 13.
On November 29, 2021, the Cabinet approved a proposal to resolve the issue of remaining Bhutanese refugees in Nepal. Even before that, then-home secretary Pandey had initiated the process through a secretary-level decision on September 30, 2021.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the refugee center in Jhapa had identified 429 Bhutanese refugees who had previously missed the registration process.
A committee was formed to re-verify the refugees, citing possible changes in their number. Pandey had obtained Khand's approval for the committee on November 28, 2021.
The court ruled that since the committee was established by Pandey himself, Khand was not involved in it.
The judgment also relied on Viber messages between Pandey and co-defendant Keshav Prasad Dulal, in which Pandey discussed arranging a meeting with the minister and referred to bringing "the minister's gift" and "the minister's items." However, the court found no direct evidence that Khand personally received any money.
Instead, the court cited a statement by co-defendant Ang Tawa Sherpa, who claimed that some money had been returned through Khand's personal secretary. Based on that evidence, the court concluded that Khand was involved in decisions to extend the committee's tenure and expand its mandate under inappropriate influence, making him an accomplice in fraud and organized crime.
The court also convicted Khand as an accomplice in offenses against the state.
According to the judgment, a false report was prepared to send Nepali citizens as Bhutanese refugees to the United States, even tampering with the recommendations of the government task force established to resolve the issue of genuine Bhutanese refugees who had not been resettled abroad.
The court said that the scam not only defrauded victims by promising resettlement in the United States, but also damaged Nepal's international reputation and undermined the country's sovereignty and credibility with international organizations such as the UNHCR and the World Food Programme (WFP).
Along with Khand, the court also convicted Bhutanese refugee leader Rizal, Narendra KC, Shamsher Miya, Hari Bhakta Maharjan, and Niranjan Kumar Kharel as accomplices.
On May 24, 2023, prosecutors had charged 30 individuals – including Rayamajhi, Khand, and Pandey – with fraud, forgery of government documents, offenses against the state, and organized crime.
On Tuesday, the district court convicted 15 defendants and acquitted seven others.
Those acquitted include Ram Sharan KC, Tanka Kumar Gurung, Sandeep Rayamajhi, Prateek Thapa, Laxmi Maharjan, Keshav Tuladhar, and Ashish Budhathoki.
The court said that cases against eight defendants remain pending as they are still absconding.
