KATHMANDU, July 23: A fresh hearing date has been set for suspended CPN-UML Secretary and former Deputy Prime Minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi in the fake Bhutanese refugee scam.
Kathmandu District Court has scheduled the next hearing for August 3, following the completion of statements from complainants and witnesses. Rayamajhi, who has been in pre-trial detention for over two years, was arrested in connection with a high-profile case involving fake documents, fraud and organized crime. He was made one of the defendants after the main accused including Keshav Dulal, Sanu Bhandari and Sandesh Sharma, were charged.
During the latest hearing, witness Premraj Panthi clarified that although he had signed the initial complaint at the District Police Office in Teku, he had no further involvement in the details of the case. Under cross-examination, he stated he had been summoned to a restaurant by the main accused but had never met Rayamajhi or his aide Lila GC during those meetings.
Judge Neupane’s bench to hear fake Bhutanese refugee case
Panthi further testified that his complaint did not mention meeting Rayamajhi and that he only met Sanu Bhandari at Everest Hotel.
In the case, Keshav Prasad Dulal, Sanu Bhandari and Sandesh Sharma were named as the main defendants, while former minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi was listed as a secondary defendant. Following this, the Kathmandu District Police Office issued an arrest warrant on 3 May 2023 , and Rayamajhi was arrested on 14 May 2023.
A single bench of Kathmandu District Court Judge Prem Prasad Neupane, through a ruling on June 16, 2023, ordered that Rayamajhi and others be held in custody for trial. Rayamajhi had filed a petition in both the High Court and the Supreme Court challenging the district court’s decision and seeking to be released on bail to fight the case. However, both higher courts upheld the district court’s verdict.
Meanwhile, other accused in the case, including Nepali Congress (NC) leader Bal Krishna Khand, Raiyamajhi’s son Sandeep Raiyamajhi, Angtawa Sherpa and Govinda Chaudhary, have been released on bail as per Supreme Court orders. In a related development, the Patan High Court ruled that co-defendant Tek Nath Rijal was mentally unfit to stand trial.
