KATHMANDU, May 27: The Immigration Office at Tribhuvan International Airport said it launched a 'sting operation' after discovering that officials were collecting bribes worth millions of rupees in the name of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA).
The CIAA initiated the investigation after Undersecretary Tirtha Raj Bhattarai visited the Immigration Office and found that officials had collected massive bribes using the CIAA's name. "An audio recording confirmed that they were taking bribes in the CIAA's name. We found they used a separate mobile number for the transactions. That prompted the sting operation. The current investigation has also brought several Home Ministry officials under scrutiny," said a CIAA source.
According to the CIAA, the accused obtained a SIM card under another person's name and gave it exclusively to a travel agency. They operated all illegal activities using that mobile number. Balkrishna Khadka of Greenline Holidays Travel regularly sends lists via WhatsApp. Investigators discovered that the recipients deposited the collected bribe money—based on Khadka's lists—into Kavita Paudel's bank account.
Khagendra Subedi of Bhaktapur managed the funds and transferred the money to individuals selected by Undersecretary Tirtha Raj Bhattarai. "Subedi himself distributed the money to officials at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA)," a CIAA source said.
Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak has denied any involvement. However, reports revealed that staff from his secretariat, including his personal secretary Janak Bhatta, engaged in bargaining over the bribe amounts, which has placed Minister Lekhak in a difficult position. This has fueled further accusations against him.
"The Home Minister may deny involvement, but the Administration Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs assigns the staff to those posts. That same division directed Chhabi Rijal, who is also under CIAA scrutiny, to issue the press release," the source added.
Home Minister sees the need of 'sting operation' against corrup...
Human trafficking through visit visas at the airport is not a new issue. Travel agencies, manpower entrepreneurs, their agents, and officials from the MoHA have repeatedly trafficked people. The MoHA follows a pyramid-style system to appoint secretaries, Administration Division staff, and employees to immigration offices.
The ministry assigns secretaries who have never worked there, sends secretaries with long experience in the Ministry of Land Reform, Survey, and Education but who do not understand the Home Ministry's restructuring, and appoints undersecretaries and deputy undersecretaries as Chief District Officers (CDOs) through these arrangements. For example, the ministry appointed Tek Narayan Pandey through this system, and he now sits in jail over a fake Bhutanese refugee case.
Gokarna Mani Duwadi, who served as a chief district officer in Sindhupalchowk before leaving the MoHA, now leads the ministry as home secretary. Tirtha Raj Bhattarai heads the Immigration Office and works under Duwadi. Bhattarai did not work long in the Home Ministry and stirred controversies during his time as CDO. These issues have also raised questions about Home Secretary Duwadi.
Controversial employees in the Home Ministry
The MoHA continues to deploy controversial employees, enabling human traffickers to operate through visit visas at the Immigration Office at the airport. Although the Home Minister does not directly participate in trafficking via visit visas, several members of his secretariat have sparked controversy. People increasingly demand that authorities remove these individuals from the secretariat and launch an investigation.
Minister Lekhak's secretariat includes controversial figures such as Badri Tiwari, Ganesh Ojha, Bimal Paudel, and political appointee Janak Bhatt. Janak Bhatta, the minister's personal secretary, even appeared in a scandal involving an obscene video. Badri Tiwari, who has worked closely with Minister Lekhak since his tenure as labor minister, also joined the Home Ministry. Employees from the Labor Ministry frequently collude in arranging visit visas. The CIAA recorded corruption charges against Ganesh Ojha during his time as chief administrative officer of Mohanyal Rural Municipality in Kailali.
In fiscal year 2074/75 (2017/18), the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) filed a corruption case against the chairperson of a rural municipality, executive members, the chief administrative officer, and a contractor. The CIAA accused them of illegally granting tax exemptions on contracts for extracting and selling stone, gravel, and sand by manipulating decisions through the executive body. After confirming that they unlawfully waived Rs 5.418 million in revenue, the CIAA moved forward with the case, which remains under review at the Supreme Court.
Minister Ramesh Lekhak has faced increasing criticism for assigning key departments and divisions to controversial undersecretaries. He appointed Tirtha Raj Bhattarai-who has a history of controversy-as the chief of the Immigration Office at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA). Shortly after his appointment, Bhattarai became involved in visit visa rackets. Although Bhattarai had previously faced charges in a tarpaulin procurement scandal, the MoHA still deployed him as the TIA's chief immigration officer.
Suspects on Blacklist Flew Out Freely from TIA
Tribhuvan International Airport officials allowed not just the misuse of visit visas but also the unchecked departure of individuals banned from international travel. Three months ago, two Indian nationals flew out without any obstruction, despite holding blacklisted passports. Indian authorities had listed both as "most wanted" suspects.
The Department of Immigration (DoI) learned about their departure only after the duo had reached a third country. The DoI then asked Tirtharaj Bhattarai, the head of the airport's immigration office, to explain the lapse. "Three months ago, two Indian nationals boarded a flight to Dubai. Their passports were on the blacklist. Indian authorities were actively searching for them and had even sought help from Nepal Police. Yet, they left through Nepal's airport without issue," an immigration official said.
At that time, the authorities launched an investigation against Bhattarai. The two individuals had committed crimes in India and entered Nepal while the Indian police were actively searching for them. However, the ministry failed to address the issue with the seriousness it required. "Why did the authorities pardon the chief of the Immigration Office, who failed to prevent internationally blacklisted individuals from flying out of Nepal? That's a serious question," said a department official.
Despite the seriousness of the matter, none of the DoI's officials have spoken publicly. Rabindra Acharya, the assistant spokesperson at the Home Ministry, said he had no knowledge of the case and suggested that the Administration Division might know more. Repeated attempts to contact Chhabi Rijal, the head of the Administration Division, were unsuccessful.
At that time, Bhattarai evaded accountability by claiming a server malfunction. He argued that the system displays a red alert for blacklisted passports and a green signal for others-and since the system did not show a red alert for the two Indian nationals, he said he could not stop them. However, sources confirmed that the server functioned normally that day.
Higher authorities protected Bhattarai and reinstated him at the airport. "Officials took no action then, and they are still trying to shield him in the visit visa misuse case," said a MoHA official. According to the official, Bhattarai repeatedly mishandled responsibilities at the airport. Even before the MoHA reassigned him, the DoI had already asked him for clarification on earlier lapses.
