Manisha Kamat, who has been working as a laborer in Biratnagar, went to the District Administration Office, Morang, on Wednesday afternoon to apply for a National Identity Card.
She handed over her citizenship certificate (No. 1022/300) to the officials. When the employees examined her citizenship, it was found to be fake.
"Your citizenship certificate is fake," the officials told her. Manisha was shocked. She insisted that the document could not be fake as it had been issued by the same office.
While the 30-year-old Kamat was explaining her situation, Chief District Officer Yuvaraj Kattel arrived on the scene. Upon questioning, it was revealed that a group had taken money from Manisha and provided her with a fake citizenship certificate.
Following this incident, a racket involved in making and selling fake citizenship certificates to the public has been busted by police in Biratnagar.
Police arrested 65-year-old Ashok Kumar Shrestha of Biratnagar-11 and 38-year-old Dhandev Rajbanshi of Biratnagar-5 on charges of producing and selling fake citizenship certificates.
According to police, the racket was exposed after Kamat visited the District Administration Office to apply for a National Identity Card.
Shrestha, who claimed to have access to the administration, had lured Manisha – who did not even know the formal procedure for obtaining citizenship – by promising to provide her with a citizenship certificate.
He took Rs 130,000, along with necessary documents and photos, promising to arrange citizenship certificates for Kamat and her maternal uncle. Three days later, he called her to Mahendra Chowk and handed over a citizenship certificate.
The scam was exposed when Manisha took that citizenship certificate to apply for a National Identity Card.
During the investigation, police recovered 10 additional fake citizenship certificates from Shrestha’s possession.
Shortly after Shrestha’s arrest, two other people also contacted the administration claiming that Shrestha had made their citizenship certificates as well.
Police found that the seized fake citizenship certificates had authentic-looking hologram of the Government of Nepal, administration’s stamp, signatures of issuing officers, and lamination.
According to police, the fake certificates bore issuance dates ranging from 2011 to 2025.
Rajbanshi, who runs New Doli Photo Services in Biratnagar-5, was also arrested after his connection with Shrestha was revealed during the investigation.
Police discovered that the fake citizenship certificates were being printed at Rajbanshi’s studio.
According to the District Police Office, Morang, various government documents, including birth registration forms, citizenship applications, National Identity Card forms, and applications to ward offices for citizenship recommendation were also recovered.
Police said that further investigation against the two arrested individuals is underway.
