One of the stolen passports has been found with a German visa sticker that was stolen from the immigration office at Karlsruhe, Germany in August 2008, suggesting that the same international racket might have a hand in stealing blank passports in Nepal and visa stickers in Germany. [break]
"This is becoming evident following two recent incidents in Nepal and India," police sources said.
Last Thursday, police arrested one Hari Ram Pokharel in Kathmandu while he was returning from the German embassy at Gyaneshwar, where he had gone to get his German visa translated. "He was carrying a stolen Nepali passport with a stolen German visa," said the source. The passport is in the name of Suman Niroula but the photo in it has an Indian-looking face, according to the source.
According to details about the arrest, Pokharel visited the German embassy seeking help in translating the content of the German visa. Experience Travel Agency at Thamel, Kathmandu had asked for a translation of the German visa in English before issuing any air ticket.
"Embassy officials were perplexed to discover that the passport carried a German visa sticker stolen from the immigration office in Germany," said the police source. The German embassy informed police, leading to Pokharel´s arrest. Pokharel told German embassy officials that the passport belongs to a friend of his brother.
The racketeers seem to have used stolen Nepali passports and fake German visa stickers in India also. Indian immigration last week stopped two individuals from flying to Europe after they were found carrying stolen passports with German visa stickers.
"The passport holders were Indian citizens and were not arrested," said a knowledgeable source at the Department of Immigration on condition of anonymity.
The German embassy in Kathmandu has notified Interpol, German Border Security, Nepal police and the Department of Immigration about the possible use of stolen German visa stickers. "Yes, we have received a note from the German embassy in this regard" said DSP Sushil Bhandari, who works at the Nepal police Interpol section.
In a mysterious incident, 250 blank passports were stolen from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in June 2007, with the door and lock of the safe room in which passports were stored left intact. Though the ministry launched an investigation into the lost passports there was no concrete finding. The passports were, however, declared null and void.
After the incident, foreign embassies in Kathmandu were promptly informed and given the numbers of the lost passports.
kiran@myrepublica.com
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