Victims of the Afghanistan fraud cases have accused senior officials at the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) of plotting to acquit the criminals behind the fraud by filing a case against a lower-rung employee.

Victims claimed that DoFE officials portrayed their own office clerk Madan Parajuli and his wife as culprits in order to free the owners of the Macchapokhari-based Kankai Communications, Durga Niraula, his son Somnath and daughter-in-law Ajanta, among others.

Durga Niraula was the prime suspect in the Afghanistan fraud case where his team collected around Rs 100 million from 214 migrant workers aspiring to go to Afghanistan for work. Niraula himself had confessed to the DoFE of taking around Rs 60.8 million from the workers.  
 
At a press conference in the Capital on Wednesday, the victims and the accused couple claimed senior officials, including legal section officer Hari Singh Dhami, were planning to free Niraula by putting the blame on the Parajuli couple.

Around two dozen victims, including Min Bahadur Tamang, Birendra Singh Tamang, Sita Ram Tamang, Badri Bahadur Thapa and Durga Koirala, accused Dhami of falsely accusing the couple.  “We took Parajuli’s name in order to arrest Niraula. He is not involved in the fraud case. Now Dhami is doing his best to save Niraula by imposing charges on the Parajuli couple,’’ claimed the victims. They said Dhami had travelled to Jhapa with the Niraula family in order to make a financial transaction to save Niraula.

However, Dhami slammed the accusations against him and said he could submit proof of his innocence.

‘’These people are not victims. Those who were present at the press meet are also foreign employment brokers. I have written proof of their misdoings,’’ said Dhami. He claimed that one Durga Koirala, who claims to be a victim of fraud, had also taken money from ten different people.

Although DoFE issued a red corner notice against the Parajuli couple claiming they were absconding, the couple said they had regularly appeared before the department for attendance. The victims claimed that the red corner notice was Dhami’s doing to falsely portray the Parajuli couple as fraudsters.

Published on: 19 July 2012 | The Kathmandu Post