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The travel documents of 246 out of more than 1500 youths going abroad on visit visa were found fake, the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office said.

The Office stated that people are found to have been sent abroad on visit visas by preparing fake documents with the involvement of the government employees themselves. Most of those who have gone to foreign countries through this collusion are found to have gone to work rather than for visiting purposes, police said.

Police had initiated the investigation into the suspected documents from September 18 to October 17 itself. The documents of 1,512 people were studied in course of the investigation and of them the documents like certificates, labour and relation certification, police report and bank details of 246 people were found to be forged, said Office spokesperson and Superintendent Rabindra Regmi.

Investigation carried out to identify the people making such documents and how people are sent abroad on the basis of counterfeit documents found that all these fake documents were prepared through complicity, he added.

The Office said it was found in course of investigation that the agent, consultancy, travel agency in connivance with the government employees, gave money in the range of Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 per person to the airlines, and Rs 40,000 to Rs 55,000 per person to the employees at the immigration to send people abroad.

On the basis of this, the police arrested more than 35 persons, including the agents and employees of travels, airlines and immigration involved in the collusion on various dates and initiated necessary action against them on the charge of organized crime and forging documents.

Police arrested Narabir Khadka, an officer at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), Immigration Office, in this connection and it was found through investigation that he had sent 300 people abroad in collusion like this.

Police Range Teku has arrested Manoj Tamang, proprietor of Nima Chhiring Travels, and his brother-in-law Padam Lama who works at the same Travels. Police are carrying out investigations against the two on crime related to preparing fake documents.

Similarly, Arabinda Yadav and Hom Pokharel of Nepal Airlines, Manuram Chaudhary of the Travel Agency, Dinesh Gyawali of Sky Travels and Tours and Ganesh Pandey, Sanjaya Tamang, Ram Prasad Bhandari, Saroj Kumar Yadav, Raj Kishor Shah, Rabin Aryal, including Devraj Khanal of Royal Travels have been apprehended in this connection and action initiated against them on the charge of their involvement in that connection.

A youth of Tikapur, Kailali died during a war between Russia and Ukraine.

Bharat Shah (36) of Durganagar, Tikapur Municipality-1, who joined the Russian army three months ago, is said to have died on November 26.

Rabin Thapa of Kanchapur, who is serving in the Russian army, confirmed the death of Shah.

Shah’s family, who had not been in touch with Shah for three weeks, knew about his death only on Saturday. 

Shah’s family member and Nepali Congress Kailali Constituency No 1 President Prakash Shah said that his last rites were performed by making an effigy of kush, holy grass, at Dalitpur Ghat of Karnali river on Sunday.

In the audio message, Thapa said that he and Shah were in the same barrack and they went to Russia from Dubai together.

“We went to Russia together. We were in the same barrack as a team,” Thap said, adding, “I could not save Shah, who was injured in the war, despite my best efforts. I am sorry. Perform all the rituals. I have all the documents of Bharat.”

Thapa said that he is going to war again and has no hope of life.

Shah, who had worked as traffic policeman in Nepal Police for seven years, had reached Russian by putting in his papers as a guard in Dubai.

Bharat, Rabin and Rajendra Rai of Pokhara had gone to Russia from Dubai.

Rai, who was injured after receiving five bullets in the war, said that told his family members that he sustained injuries during a war with the Ukrainian army at Bakhmut.

The Foreign Ministry and the Russian government, however, have not officially informed the family about the death of Shah.

The National Human Rights Commission has said that its serious attention has been drawn towards the Nepalis joining the Russian and Ukrainian army in an illegal way.

The human rights watchdog has urged the government of Nepal to protect the life of people by ending the situation of going to foreign countries for employment through illegal ways, reads a statement issued by the Commission on Sunday.

Joint Secretary Dr Tika Ram Pokharel, Joint Secretary at the Commission, said that the Commission's serious attention has been drawn towards the information received through various news agencies that the Nepalis, who have joined the Russian and Ukrainian army through illegal means, have died and injured during the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and still hundreds of Nepalis are serving in the Russian and Ukrainian army.

The Commission claimed that it is the duty of the government to rescue and protect the human rights of the Nepali citizens in any kind of situation.

The Commission has received information that some Nepalis serving in the Russian army have died, some injured are undergoing treatment in various hospitals, some have been held captives and hundreds are serving in the army of both the countries, according to the statement.

The Commission has urged the government to take initiatives to bring the Nepalis who want to return home through diplomatic channels and provide relief to the families of those killed and injured in the war.

Vehicular movement along the Narayangadh-Muglin road section will be closed for four hours daily from December 23. The road will remain closed to chop off a hill on the roadside to build a bridge in the Tuin river of the road.

Information Officer of Nagadhunga-Muglin Road Project West Section (Narayangadh-Muglin) Krishna Acharya, said that the road will be closed from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm every day. In the first phase, the road will be closed for three weeks.

Four of the 19 bridges on that road were built four years ago. Of the remaining 15 bridges some have been completed and some are in the final stage. Eight bridges will be operational within two months and four within a month.

The Khare Bridge will be operational within six months, with only one bridge remaining to be completed.

The road is one of the major roads leading to and from the federal capital, with more than 10,000 vehicles traveling every day.