KATHMANDU: The Kathmandu District Court has convicted former minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi and former Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand in the fake Bhutanese refugee scam, finding them guilty of offences against the state.
The court ruled that the accused were involved in a scheme that falsely promised to send Nepali citizens to the United States by portraying them as Bhutanese refugees.
Former Home Secretary Tek Narayan Pandey and Keshab Prasad Dulal, a former aide to Sujata Koirala, were also convicted of offences against the state.
Others found guilty of offences against the state and integrated offences include Sanu Bhandari, Sagar Rai, Sandesh Sharma, Indrajeet Rai, Govinda Kumar Chaudhary and Angtawa Sherpa.
The court also found refugee leader Tek Nath Rizal guilty. Meanwhile, Narendra KC, Shamsher Miya, Haribhakta Maharjan and Niranjan Kumar Kharel were convicted as accomplices in offences against the state.
On the charge of document forgery, only Tek Nath Rizal, Keshav Prasad Dulal and Sanu Bhandari were found guilty, while all other defendants were acquitted on that count.
The court also convicted Keshab Prasad Dulal, Sanu Bhandari, Sagar Rai, Sandesh Sharma, Dr. Indrajeet Rai, Govinda Kumar Chaudhary, Angtawa Sherpa, Tek Narayan Pandey and Top Bahadur Rayamajhi as principal offenders in the organized crime charge.
The court is scheduled to determine the sentences at a subsequent hearing.
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