Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, Aug. 4: Nepal Police’s Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) on Monday arrested Joint Secretary Pushpa Raj Bhattarai of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in connection with a 17-year-old passport fraud case involving the alleged illegal issuance of travel documents to Tibetan refugees, according to The Kathmandu Post.
Bhattarai was taken into custody after the District Attorney’s Office at the Kathmandu District Court filed charges against him on July 27. Prosecutors allege that, while serving as a Section Officer in the Ministry’s Consular Section in 2009, he unlawfully issued travel documents to five Tibetan refugees without obtaining the mandatory approvals from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Department of Immigration.
Investigators allege that the beneficiaries, who had been residing in Tibetan refugee settlements in India, each paid approximately Rupees 800,000 to obtain the documents. The permits were then allegedly used to apply for German visas by falsely claiming refugee status as newly arrived Tibetans in Nepal.
The alleged scheme came to light in June 2011 when the German Embassy in Kathmandu identified irregularities in several visa applications. Subsequent inquiries revealed that the applicants had, in fact, been residing in Dehradun, India, since 1981, contradicting their claims of a recent arrival in Nepal. Reports further state that the applicants admitted paying around Rupees 800,000 each to secure the travel documents and facilitate their departure through Kathmandu’s airport.
During questioning, Bhattarai denied any involvement, maintaining that his signatures on the travel documents had been forged. However, the Central Police Forensic Science Laboratory in Maharajgunj concluded that the signatures on all five disputed documents matched Bhattarai’s handwriting samples, undermining his defence.
Based on the forensic findings, prosecutors have sought the maximum punishment under Section 22(1) of Nepal’s Passport Act, 2019. If convicted, Bhattarai could face a fine of up to Rupees 500,000, imprisonment ranging from one to three years, or both. Authorities have also requested the formal cancellation of the fraudulently issued travel documents.
