KATHMANDU: The Kathmandu District Court on Monday remanded former Deputy Prime Minister and UML leader Top Bahadur Rayamajhi to three days in judicial custody to further probe Rayamajhi’s alleged involvement in the fake Bhutanese refugee scam.

Rayamajhi, who was arrested from Budhanilakantha in Kathmandu on Sunday on charge of his involvement in the racket of sending off people to the United States of America in the guise of Bhutanese refugee, was presented before the District Court today.

The Court granted police authority three days of remand for Rayamajhi for further investigation into the case, according to Superintendent of Police at the District Police Office, Kathmandu, Sitaram Rijal.

Rayamajhi was taken under control by police on the 12th day of the issuance of an arrest warrant against him while his son Sandeep, another alleged culprit in the scam, was arrested on the same day of the issuance of the warrant.

So far, police have arrested 13 people, including some high-profile individuals such as former Minister for Home Affairs Bal Krishna Khand, former Minister for Home Affairs Ram Bahadur Thapa’s security advisor Indra Jit Rai and former Home Secretary Tek Narayan Pandey among others, for their alleged involvement in the scam.

A total of 106 victims have registered complaints to the police noting that the fraudsters fleeced over Rs 232.5 million from them over different times, police said.

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