A case has been filed against 32 individuals in connection with the fake rescue scam targeting tourists on mountaineering expeditions.
The District Government Attorney’s Office, Kathmandu, filed the case on Sunday at the Kathmandu District Court.
According to the court’s information officer Deepak Kumar Shrestha, the accused have been charged with offenses against the state and organized crime.
Out of the 32 defendants, eight have been arrested and presented before the court, while the others have been named as absconding, Shrestha said.
On January 25, the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police received information that organized fraud was being committed by collecting insurance money for foreign tourists who came to Nepal for mountaineering. At that time, the CIB arrested six people.
Those arrested were operator Jayaram Rimal and manager Bibek Pandey of Mountain Rescue Service Pvt Ltd, operator Rabindra Adhikari and operation manager Bibek Raj Thapaliya of Nepal Charter Service, and operator Mukti Pandey and manager Subash KC of Everest Experience and Assistance Pvt Ltd.
They were accused of declaring tourists ill, conducting helicopter rescues, admitting them to hospitals, and claiming insurance in an organized manner.
Rajendra Bahadur Singh, former vice-chairman of the Airlines Operators Association of Nepal, and Sandip Tiwari, operator of Royal Holidays Adventure company, were also arrested later.
Similarly, on February 8, the CIB arrested Dr Girwan Raj Timilsina, chairman and medical director of Shreedhi Hospital.
