KATHMANDU: Police have arrested two individuals in Dhulikhel Municipality, Kavrepalanchok, for allegedly operating a forgery racket involved in producing counterfeit government documents and official seals.
According to the District Police Office in Dhulikhel, 41-year-old Kiran Aryal of Lakhan Rural Municipality-9 in Gorkha, currently residing in Kathmandu, and 38-year-old Jitendra Tamang of Dhulikhel-11 were arrested during a raid conducted with permission from the Kavre District Court.
The duo is accused of running a fake document operation under the guise of a ward office. During the raid, police recovered 26 counterfeit seals from various government and private institutions, along with forged Nepali citizenship certificates, passports, academic transcripts, recommendation letters, and other documents.
Authorities also seized Rs 68,700 in cash, a hard drive, CPU, printer, and photocopy machine used in the forgery operation.
The recovered seals included those of Dhulikhel Municipality Ward No. 11, Tara Khola Rural Municipality (Baglung), Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City, Ratnanagar Ward No. 1 (Chitwan), the Nepal Student Union, Nepal Notary Public Council, as well as several ward chairpersons, hospitals, meat shops, hotels, and computer institutes.
Police allege the forged documents were sold primarily to individuals seeking overseas employment. The suspects are currently being held for further investigation after the Kavre District Court granted a five-day extension to their custody.
The case is being investigated under charges of misuse of official seals and document forgery.
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