May 3: The police have arrested Tek Narayan Pandey, secretary at the Office of the Vice President, on charge of his involvement in a racket accused of sending Nepali citizens to the United States in the guise of Bhutanese refugees.    

A team from the Metropolitan Police Range, Kathmandu arrested Pandey from Pepsikola on Wednesday, said Deputy Inspector General of Police, Kuber Kadayat, spokesperson for the Nepal Police.

"Pandey has been kept at the police range, and investigations are underway," he tolf the state-owned RSS.    

Before being transferred to the Vice President’s Office, Pandey worked at the Ministry of Home Affairs. He is reported to have been involved in the illegal act when he was posted at the Home Ministry.    

Pandey’s arrest comes a day after police arrested former parliamentarian Indrajit Rai for his involvement in sending Nepalis to the United States in the guise of Bhutanese refugee.   

Rai was nabbed from Saukhel in Lalitpur on Tuesday morning, according to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Dr Manoj Kumar KC, chief of the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office, Minbhawan. 

Arrested Rai, who also served as a security advisor to the then Minister for Home Affairs Ram Bahadur Thapa, has been kept at Metropolitan Police Range, Kathmandu for interrogation.

Police investigations have also revealed that the Former Home Minister Thapa’s son Prateek Thapa was also involved in the racket.

Sources said an arrest warrant has been issued against Thapa as well.

Arrest warrants have also been issued against CPN-UML Secretary Top Bahadur Rayamajhi and his son Sandeep Rayamajhi in connection with the same case.  

Although the racked is involved in human trafficking, the police have filed cases of fraud against them.