Over 2,000 Nepalis in crisis in Portugal

Kathmandu. More than two thousand people have filed complaints against the Nepal Police for forging the signatures and seals of the Portugal and Nepali embassies. The concerned people at the Nepali Embassy in Kathmandu have been complaining that their signatures and seals on their police character certificates are forged.

The complainants have claimed that the certificates issued by Nepal Police are genuine but the seals of the two countries used on them and signatures of government officials are fake.

In the complaints, some of them have mentioned the names of the people they have hired for the police certificate verification. The police reports with the seals and signatures of the Portuguese and Nepali embassies in New Delhi were fake.

Nepali Ambassador to Portugal, Prakash Mani Poudel, said the number of Nepalis lodging complaints through emails and at the office is increasing day by day. “The main task of the embassy now is to receive these complaints, hundreds of Nepalis have used fake seals and signatures in the original police reports,” said Ambassador Poudel, adding, “We have received about a thousand complaints in writing.” There are more complaints in the embassy’s email than that. ’

The embassy said it is collecting details of the complainants. Although the police report was genuine, it was found that the verification of those sent to New Delhi was fake as there was no embassy here for its authentication.

After collecting the details of the complainants collected so far, the Nepali Embassy has informed the government side here that they were cheated by another person and the police report is genuine. “Although the seals and signatures of the two embassies used in the report are fake, we have officially informed the government bodies here as the report issued by Nepal Police is genuine,” Ambassador Poudel said.

The Unification, Migration and Refugee Agency (AIMA), an organization that provides legal status to migrants in Portugal, has found fake police reports of Nepalis who had applied for temporary residence permits (TRC).

The competent authority here is warning them to leave the country, saying that the police report is fake.

The victims have also been accused of misappropriating government documents and forgery while submitting the original police report with a fake seal and signature to the government. According to them, hundreds of people have been charged with forgery of government documents through e-mails by the immigration watchdog for submitting fake police reports.

According to one of the victims, more than three thousand Nepali citizens in Portugal have been facing legal problems due to this fake stamp case.

Deepak Nepal of Sindhupalchowk, who is currently in Lisbon, said that he too has been affected by the disease. He says that the process of temporary residence permit has also been stopped and the fear of deportation and jail imprisonment has increased.

He has been in Portugal for the past three years and is now in trouble after receiving an email seeking legal action against him as soon as the TRC arrives. “More than 1,500 people are in contact with me alone, more than 15 of us are collectively discussing how to find a solution by forming a WhatsApp group,” said Nepal. ’

Many Nepalis like him go to the Nepali Embassy in Lisbon saying that they have not forged any documents but have been cheated. They have been demanding the Nepal government and embassy to reconsider it on humanitarian grounds.

The victims, who reached the Nepali Embassy on Thursday, said they would go directly to request the President if they delay in informing the government bodies and immigration authorities here about the matter.

How did the fake report become Rs

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According to the facts found so far, the character certificate (police report) issued by the Nepal Police has used a fake seal and signature of the Portuguese and Nepali Embassy in New Delhi. The Portuguese government has adopted a policy of issuing Temporary Residence Permits (TRC) to those who have been living in Portugal until June 3, 2024.

At the same time, the police report to be submitted should be verified by the embassies of both the countries. For this, from May 2024, Nepalis had to go to France or Delhi.

The Office of the Honorary Consul General in Lisbon, Portugal, which has been operating for the past 10 years, has been closed by the Council of Ministers.

Although the office of the honorary consul general was closed on April 30, 2024, the office of the Embassy of Nepal could not be established immediately. After the closure of the consular service and until the establishment of the Embassy of Nepal in Portugal, the Nepali Embassy in Portugal was compelled to travel from Portugal to the Embassy of Nepal in Paris, France or the Embassy of India, New Delhi, for attestation of any documents.

Nepalis and Indians living in Portugal used this opportunity as a business. Due to the pressure of document verification, these brokers prepared fake documents with the seal of the two countries even from their own homes in Portugal. Two Nepalis were arrested in connection with the incident a few months ago.

According to sources, the brokers have been using fake seals and signatures in hotels in India without even reaching the embassy. Initially, it was a minor rumor, but later the police and immigration agencies investigated and confirmed that it was a forgery. According to sources, those who forged the original police report and signed it took at least 200 euros (about Rs 32,000) per person.

Complaints not being addressed by Nepali organizations

The Embassy of Nepal in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, held an interaction with the Nepali community on Thursday. The two youths expressed their anger at the discussion focused on the possibilities of connecting Portugal and Nepal and the issues that could be taken to the formal meeting between the two countries on Friday. Then the interaction took a new turn.

Binod Sunar of Pyuthan, who is currently in Lisbon, angrily said, “NRNA and Nepali organizations here were formed only to play Deusi Bhaili and dance on Teej

.

“Once, when I spoke about the issue of putting a fake stamp and signature in the police report of Nepalis, he threatened me by calling me saying that I am an NRNA office-bearer. ’

According to Sunar, people from various organizations of the Nepali community are also involved in the crime of forging and signing police reports. Sunar says that such people have repeatedly threatened him not to raise this issue and it will not be good if he raises it.

Turning to the three NRNA presidents who participated in the program, Sunar said, “Even in the police report of the NRNA who took money saying that they will bring me with a seal, there is a fake stamp in the police

report.

Instructions for immediate investigation

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai has directed the Nepali Embassy in Kathmandu to prepare a report on the incident.

He also directed the government to investigate into the complaints received that Nepalis were also involved in forgery of documents and fraud and to bring them under the ambit of the law.

He said he had heard such complaints during his official visit to Portugal representing the Nepal government and urged not to take it lightly as more than two thousand Nepalis were facing the same problem.

Speaking at a programme organised at the Nepali Embassy on Thursday, Foreign Secretary Rai said, “Don’t spare even a single person involved in this serious crime. ’