The Metropolitan Police Crime Division (MPCD) has arrested an education consultancy operator on charges of sending workers abroad and leaving them stranded in the foreign country. 

 

A special team of the Nepal Police’s crime division arrested operator of Catchy Education and Training Consultancy Pvt Ltd Purushottam Khadka, 41, from his office in Putalisadak, Kathmandu last Friday.

 

Although Khadka was running the educational consultancy, he was illegally sending Nepali workers abroad by charging hefty sums. According to Deputy Superintendent Manohar Prasad Bhatta of MPCD, Khadka was found alluring unemployed youths with lucrative jobs in European countries like Azerbaijan, Poland, Estonia, Malta, and in South Africa.

 

“We have received information from various sources about his involvement in illegally sending Nepalis abroad. He was engaged in sending workers overseas jobs without the required permit to run a recruiting agency, which is against the law,” said DSP Bhatta.

 

Khadka was reportedly charging up to Rs 1.2 million from aspirant candidates for a job placement in those countries. Police made the arrest following complaints that some of the persons, who were sent by the consultancy, were left stranded in Azerbaijan.

 

“We have received emails from Nepalis complaining about misdeeds of the consultancy. They complained the consultancy had cheated them of their money promising lucrative jobs in Azerbaijan only to abandon them there,” said Bhatta, adding that about a dozen Nepalis have been stranded in Azerbaijan.

 

Following a tip-off, the team raided the consultancy firm and arrested Khadka and also seized 25 Nepali passports, a laptop, 18 stamps of different government offices, including Notary Public, chequebooks of various banks, payment receipts and copies of several other documents.

 

Police have also recovered three passports with a visa of Poland, indicating he was illegally sending people abroad on foreign employment even though he was running an educational consultancy, said DSP Bhatta.

 

The case has been forwarded to the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) for further investigation.

 

DoFE Director Mohan Adhikari said the department will press charge against the accused for operating as a recruitment agency without operating licence, which is mandatory under the Foreign Employment Act (2007). “We will file the case against the offender at the court, asking for suitable compensation for victims, return of seized passports, and penalty for illegally operating in the foreign employment sector,” said Adhikari, adding that an investigation officer from the DoFE has launched an investigation into the case.