माओबादीहरुको युनियनको रहेछ यो राम प्रसाद खनाल र सोमनाथ खनाल भन्ने र त यिनीहरुलाई बचाउने कोशिश हुदै रहेछ | नेपालको युनियन र राजनैतिक पार्टी भनेको चोर, डाँकु, हत्यारा र लुटेराहरुको समुह मात्रै रहेछ

TIA Robbery: Ministry suspends immigration officials

KATHMANDU, DEC 25 - The Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) on Monday suspended two section officers and a senior non-gazetted officer for their involvement in the robbery case of a returnee female migrant at Tribhuvan International Airport. The ministry suspended Ram Prasad Koirala, Somnath Khanal and official Tika Pokharel of the Department of Immigration (DoI).

The two-month suspension comes a day after a joint-secretary-led probe panel submitted its final report to MoHA secretary Navin Ghimire. The report revealed that section officers Koirala and Pokharel, and senior non-gazetted officer Khanal at the Department of Immigration (DoI), along with constable Parshuram Basnet had financial motives behind the incident.

"We have officially initiated the process to punish the accused today. The suspension is only an initial action," said secretary Ghimire. Further actions will be based on the provisions for punishment inscribed in the Civil Servant Act 1993. Those found guilty can face five different types of punishment depending on the severity of their crime.

Sita Rai (name changed), 20, of Bhojpur lodged a complaint last Sunday with the MoHA against Khanal and Basnet, accusing them of robbing her of Rs 218,000 at TIA on the night of November 21. Her further accused constable Basnet of rape following the robbery. Rai was returning from Saudi Arabia after three years of employment under the passport of one Bimala KC of Parbat district. She had flown from India.

Coming across this illiterate migrant worker carrying someone else's passport, the officials had taken her to the immigration office in Kalikasthan. There, during interrogations, the officials robbed her of the cash. Basnet then volunteered to take her to a buspark where he allegedly raped her at the Solukhumbu Guest House. A recent health report has revealed that Rai is pregnant.

Although the prime accused, Khanal and Basnet, had named other officials, including the director general of the DoI, the probe panel failed to establish their connection with the incident. A source at the MoHA said that director general Suresh Adhikari and Director Ram Prasad Koirala should be held morally responsible for the crime.

A Kathmandu District Court bench remanded constable Basnet to police custody. According to Rai's lawyer, Basanta Basnet, various civil servant trade unions have been exerting pressure on the government to withdraw the suspension of the two section officers. He said that the withdrawal of their suspension would be "unacceptable." The government is preparing to bring about charges of fraud against the officers, said lawyer Basnet. He demanded that they also be charged with corruption and abuse of authority.

Posted on: 2012-12-25 03:00