Case filed against 22 on the charge of trafficking people on visit visas

KATHMANDU: A case has been filed against 22 individuals, including nine immigration officers, for trafficking people out of the country by misusing the provision of visit visas. They will face charges of forgery and organized crime at the Kathmandu District Court.

The District Government Attorney’s Office in Kathmandu filed the case based on an investigation conducted by the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office and District Police Range Kathmandu. Twelve of them, including eight immigration officers, are currently on the run.

Of the nine immigration officers charged in the case, Narbir Khadka was arrested in Kathmandu on November 12 last year. The other eight officers – Tara Bahadur Kunwar, Kushal Baral, Shailendra Dhakal, Bimal Poudel, Bishnu Prasad Aryal, Bikas Dangol, Sujan Limbu, and Pitambar Rimal are absconding.

One of the individuals mentioned in the charge sheet, Manoj Tamang, has provided a statement to the police that he paid around Rs 10 million to immigration officers to send approximately 300 individuals out of the country on visit visas.