World News | Nepal PM Prachanda Vows to Take Stern Action Against Those Involved in Fake Bhutan Refugee Scam

Kathmandu, May 12 (PTI) Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" on Friday vowed to take stern action against those involved in a fake Bhutan refugee scam, urging the opposition parties to support his government's move to expose the corrupt faces behind the scandal.

Prachanda's move came after former home minister and influential leader of Nepali Congress Bal Krishna Khand was on Wednesday arrested for his alleged involvement in the Bhutan refugee scam.

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Under the scam, Nepali nationals were sent to the United States by forging fake documents of them being Bhutanese refugees.

According to media reports, an audio tape was released in which Arzu Rana Deuba, wife of former Prime Minister Deuba, and Khand's wife, Manju Khand, are accused of receiving millions of rupees from victims of this scam.

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On Friday, Prime Minister Prachanda held a meeting with the opposition party Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSP) led by Ravi Lamichhane and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), a pro-Hindu and pro-monarchy group led by Rajendra Lingden during which the matter of the Bhutan refugee scam came up.

During the meeting, Prachanda said that he is firm on taking action against those involved in the fake Bhutan refugee scam.

Prachanda assured that the government will honestly and strongly investigate corruption, fake refugee scam and other financial irregularities.

He urged the RSP and RPP to extend support to the Nepalese government in its move against exposing the faces behind the graft.

The two parties have a combined strength of 35 in the House of Representatives. The RSP has 21 Lawmakers in the lower house while the RPP has 14 Lawmakers.

Urging Lamichhane, the Prime Minister expressed his commitment to continue the fight against corruption and bring about good governance and pursue the agenda of economic prosperity and social justice.

The RSP withdrew its support to the Prachanda-led government about a week ago after the party failed to strike a power-sharing deal with the government.

Likewise, during a separate meeting with President of RPP Rajendra Lingden, Prime Minister Prachanda pledged to bring anyone involved in the fake refugee case to justice, said an aide of the Prime Minister.

Lingden had submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Prachanda at the PM's Office in which he demanded an investigation into the property owned by bureaucrats and political personalities, who served in different capacities since 1990.

Receiving the memo submitted by the RPP president, Prime Minister Prachanda asserted that the government was clear that the guilty must not be spared while the innocent ones should not be prosecuted in the scam.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)