Police arrested Sandesh Sharma, 37, an absconding defendant in the fake Bhutanese refugee case, from Bakundol of Lalitpur Metropolitan City-2 on October 5. Sharma, who had escaped from the Central Jail Office in Jagannathdeval, Kathmandu, on September 9 during the Gen-Z protest, was arrested by a team from the Crime Investigation Office, according to SP and Information Officer Chakra Raj Joshi of the District Police Range, Lalitpur.
According to SP Nabaraj Adhikari, spokesperson for the Crime Investigation Office, Sharma, a permanent resident of Tulsipur-16, Dang, had previously been arrested on October 20 in connection with a gang rape case but was later released after coercing the victim to change her statement. He was charged at the Kathmandu District Court under the fake Bhutanese refugee case for human trafficking and fraud. According to police, he is accused of defrauding Nepali citizens under the pretext of sending them to the United States as Bhutanese refugees.
Dipak Prasad Ghimire