Visit Visa Scam at Tribhuvan Airport, Complaint Filed against Home Minister and Secretary

A complaint has been filed against Nepal’s Home Minister, Ramesh Lekhak, over alleged involvement in a visa scam and human trafficking through Tribhuvan International Airport's Immigration Office.

On Friday, Yubaraj Safal submitted the complaint to the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers. He claims that visit visas were being issued using fake documents and that large amounts of money were collected in the process. The complaint accuses the Home Minister, the head of the Immigration Office and members of the Home Minister's secretariat of involvement.

According to Safal, people traveling to Gulf countries were charged Rs 50,000, while those heading to developed countries were charged up to Rs 300,000 for a visit visa. He claims that crores of rupees were collected daily through this system and shared among top officials.

Those named in the complaint include Home Secretary Gokarnamani Duwadi, Immigration Chief Tirtharaj Bhattarai, officials Khagendra Subedi, Balkrishna Poudel and Bimal Poudel. Members of the Home Minister’s secretariat, Ganesh Ojha and personal secretary Janak Bhatt, were also mentioned.

Safal has requested that the Prime Minister’s Office and the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority take immediate action, including the suspension of the Home Minister and Home Secretary, and begin legal proceedings against them.

He also asked for a review of the past five years of the visit visa system and an investigation into whether Nepali citizens who went abroad on visit visas have returned or not.

Despite the serious allegations, the government has not issued an official response.