Nepali citizenship lures Indian hordes

Nepali citizenship lures Indian hordes

AMAN KOIRALA in Sarlahi & BINOD BHANDARI in Biratnagar

Sarlahi / Biratnagar, April 10 - Yunus Miya, a local in Sarlahi district, has filed a case at the District Administration Office (DAO) against Harun Shesh of Laxmipur Kodraha VDC-6, alleging that he helped his son-in-law Rahidul Rahaman, an Indian national, acquire Nepali citizenship certificate by preparing fake documents.
One of the evidences Miya submitted at the office against Shesh is the invitation card that the latter distributed during his daughter's wedding ceremony. Miya has demanded cancellation of Rahaman's Nepali citizenship certificate and stringent action against Shesh and others for helping an "Indian national" acquire Nepali citizenship.

The invitation card Shesh distributed has Vutahi village of India printed as the address of Shesh's son-in-law. The wedding ceremony was held on February 10.

Miya claimed that people were involved in "selling Nepali citizenship" in the name of distribution to genuine Nepali people.

Confirming that a case has been filed, Hom Bahadur Khadka, an officer at DAO stated they would start investigating once they completed the distribution.

In Biratnagar, a huge number of "unfamiliar faces" have lately started gathering in and around several bordering villages in Morang district after the government team arrived for distributing citizenship certificates. Also, some Indian "brokers" have intensified their activities in border areas.

Setting up tents in various places, some strangers, whom neither locals nor any of the eight political party representatives recognize, have

gathered and are active in acquiring Nepali citizenship, said locals.

Some Indians have enlisted their names at the index form of their relatives who live in Nepal. They either try to influence political party representatives in their favor or threaten them if the latter refuse to support them. Indian brokers have threatened a number of VDC secretaries for refusing to sign fake documents, according to some VDC secretaries. Some Indians who could not acquire Nepali citizenship even after spending money, locked up some local leaders and VDC secretaries in the area.

Indians spend a minimum Rs 2,000 to 20,000 to influence Nepali authorities, sources said. Bali Ram Yadav and Lekh Ram Yadav of Kisangunj district Teragachh Bhoda Panchayat of India acquired Nepali citizenship certificates from Jhurkiya VDC, said VDC sources. They spent Rs 5,000 each to acquire the citizenship with their certificate numbers 053012/1002 and 053014/1003, sources said.

Thousands of Indian nationals acquired Nepali citizenship certificates from Katahari, Jhurkiya, Majhare, Govindapur, Amardaha, Dainiya, Sorabhag, among other bordering VDCs, sources claimed.

A group of "brokers" that included some Indians, locked up local leaders of eight political parties and the VDC secretary at Govindapur VDC office on Monday after they were "deprived of citizenship certificates" after they had spent money for the purpose and "completed all necessary procedures". They were later released.

Meanwhile, sources claimed that over 1,000 Indian nationals acquired Nepali citizenship certificates from Amardaha VDC alone. The Indians spent over Rs 2 million for the purpose in the VDC, sources disclosed.

Ram Prasad Ghimire, Assistant Chief District Officer, stated that the administration would start investigations after April 13 as they had received so many complaints of such irregularities.

Posted on: 2007-04-09 21:25:48 (Server Time)