Rajendra Bahadur Singh, who is also the former vice president of the Airline Operators Association of Nepal, is accused of defrauding by carrying out 'fake rescues' in the name of rescuing tourists.
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Two more people involved in a gang that cheated tourists by performing 'fake rescues' in the name of rescuing them have been arrested. The Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police has arrested nine people as of Tuesday and is investigating, it said in a statement. Two more people have been arrested.
The latest arrests include Rajendra Bahadur Singh, Managing Director of Mountain Helicopters Pvt. Ltd., and Sandeep Tiwari, Owner of Royal Holidays Adventure and Travel Company Pvt. Ltd. .
Singh, 56, is also the former Vice President of the Airline Operators Association of Nepal . Bureau Chief Additional Inspector General of Police Manoj Kumar KC said that Singh was arrested in Kathmandu based on audio evidence provided by the accused who was arrested in a gang that cheated tourists by falsely rescuing them. He said that Singh's involvement has not been confirmed by Mountain Air and the Airline Operators Association, and that he was arrested based on the allegation of 'personal involvement'.
Singh was previously a member of the High-Level Civil Aviation Study Committee formed by the then KP Sharma Oli government under the coordination of former Justice Anil Sinha as an aviation expert . After Sinha became the minister after the Gen-G movement, this same Singh submitted a study report on the reform of Nepal's overall aviation sector to Prime Minister Sushila Karki.
Former AIG Vigyanraj Sharma, chairman of Singh-affiliated Mountain Air, is currently a member of the Judicial Inquiry Commission on the Gen-G movement formed under the coordination of Gauri Bahadur Karki.
The report of the investigation committee formed by the then Tourism Minister Rabindra Adhikari in 2075 suggested further study, showing the involvement of Mountain Helicopter. Central Investigation Bureau Chief KC told Kantipur on Wednesday that Singh was arrested on the basis of personal involvement, not on behalf of Mountain.
According to the police, it has been revealed that various trekking companies and people associated with rescue services have been colluding to collect money from insurance companies by showing tourists being unnecessarily rescued by helicopters. ‘Two more people involved in this case have been taken into custody and the investigation is being carried out,’ the center’s statement said.
According to the police, the gang involved in the fraud had been preparing fake documents by showing foreign tourists being unnecessarily rescued by helicopters, forging hospital admission and discharge reports, medical reports, invoices and insurance policies, and collecting large amounts of money from insurance companies.
The people involved in the investigation have been found to have forged passenger manifests, cargo manifests (lists) and other details in coordination with trekking companies, rescue service providers and other relevant bodies, the center’s statement said.
