By Rabi Raj Thapa

There is a big dilemma today about what is organized crime and what is not in Nepal. On May 26, the Nepal Government filed a case against 50 political prisoners of faith and indicted them on treason and organized crime. These people were only politically motivated pro-monarchists who demanded a Two-Pillar democratic system of government with a “King in the Parliament” in Nepal. Now, Nepali Congress is vehemently denying that the current Home Minister is totally innocent and has nothing to do with the Visit Visa scandal.  

The Criminal Justice System of Nepal is now following a trend of “The Justice in the Dark” where it is hard to ascertain who is a criminal and who is not? Today, Nepali people have metamorphosed into commodities of export, that too illegal government racketeering orchestrated by Home Ministry secretary-level officers.

Now, federal Nepal has two types of court of justices – one at party offices and another for the common people; i.e. at the court of justice where 50 Nepali politically affiliated people are handcuffed and severely treated and indicted for committing heinous organized crime.

Compare these two elements – one the perpetrators of organized crime who were arrested in street demonstration and the other organized groups who are the highly paid government servants living inside the big premises of Singh Durbar. Now, thanks to the Commission on the Abuse of Authority (CIAA) it flashes its teeth when it likes. This time it caught a middle-sized fish Tirtha Raj Bhattarai for his alleged involvement in Visa Racketeering which itself is a kind of most sophisticated form of organized crime.

The visit visa scandal is not a minor criminal offence. One daily News Naya Patrika wrote 114,000 Nepali left Nepal under the Visit Visa in one year and more than half were allowed to leave through immigration under racketeering and bribery. It is also reported that the office took 20,000 to 50,000 rupees from each travelers.

It is surprising to hear that the Home Minister had any knowledge and idea that government and criminal racketeering working under his nose. It is interesting to guess the earnings of an immigrant earning more than a successful NRN abroad.

It is interesting to see one former Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of Nepal Rabi Lamichane transported like a human commodity from prison to prison, court to court. Here we have another Home Minister who is receiving Red-Carpet Treatment at the residence of a party leader and a former prime minister of Nepal.

How hard government is working to prove Ravi Lamichane guilty and Ramesh Lekhak totally innocent? This is a reminder of Mario Puzo’s writings on Mafioso Crime Families and their code of La Cosa Nostra. How can any Nepali tolerate and see him resign and allow the government civil servants to raise a finger on his innocence, integrity and sincerity to his boss and his political party?

It is common knowledge to all that both the Nepal Police and Armed Police Force compete among themselves to invite and receive the first visit of a newly appointed Home Minister. The home ministry is a coveted powerful position only after the prime minister. It is normally a month before, any newly appointed home minister receives red-carpet treatment; the chiefs and top brass try to assure their new Home Minister that the country is safe and sound under their stewardship. Then the Minister nods in approval, not knowing when the same office and officer may handcuff when his good days begin to wane. It is not nice and pleasant for any police officer to handcuff their home ministers once they pay either voluntarily or obligatory homage.

Let us hope for the best for Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak too.