Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, who entered the valley in the middle of the night, was arrested from Budanilkanth area

CPN-UML leader and former deputy prime minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, who has been absconding since the arrest warrant was issued in the Bhutanese refugee case, has been arrested.

The police have found evidence of Rayamajhi’s direct participation in the case of illegally sending Nepali citizens to the United States for resettlement by turning them into Bhutanese refugees after paying bribes.

Police Joint Spokesperson SSP Bhupendra Khatri has confirmed that he was arrested.

According to a senior police official, he was arrested by the team working under the direct instructions of Inspector General Basant Bahadur Kunwar from the police headquarters.

After the special team received information that he had entered the valley in the middle of the night, his search was intensified.

According to SSP Khatri, Rayamajhi was arrested from Budanilkanth area.

An arrest warrant was issued against Rayamajhi on 20 Baisakh.

Rayamajhi, the MP elected from Arghakhanchi, is accused of being involved in the case of extorting crores of rupees from Nepalis by making Bhutanese refugees and sending them to America.

The police had issued an arrest warrant against him along with his son Sandeep on charges of being involved in the same incident. Sandeep has been arrested.

After the arrest warrant was issued, Top Bahadur, who reached Bhairahwa via Arghakhanchi, became uncontactable from there.

He was suspended from the party by UML on 27 Baisakh.

With the arrest of Top Bahadur, the number of people arrested in this case has reached 13.

Earlier, 12 people including former home minister and Nepali Congress leader Balkrishna Khand and his aide Narendra KC, former home secretary and Teknarayan Pandey, security adviser of the then home minister Ram Bahadur Thapa ‘Badal’, Indrajit Rai have been arrested.

Badal’s son Prateek and Indrajit’s son Niraj, who have been issued arrest warrants, are absconding. Recently, an arrest warrant has also been issued against former Congress MP Angtawa Sherpa.