Kathmandu, November 6
Police have shot and arrested Sujan Tamang, who is accused of running a series of fraud schemes by offering to exchange US dollars at below-market rates.
The arrest followed an attack on police officers who had gone to detain him, said SSP Dilip Ghimire, chief of the Kathmandu District Police Range.
“During the arrest attempt, he attacked police officers with a knife. Police fired one warning shot into the air and another round below the knee before taking him into custody,” Ghimire said.
Tamang, 28, originally from Ward 3 of Bahrabise Municipality in Sindhupalchok and currently living in Kathmandu, was arrested on Thursday evening after being shot in Gamcha, Gokarneshwor Municipality-3.
A joint team from the Kathmandu District Police Range and the Boudha Police Circle had gone to arrest him when he allegedly attacked officers with a knife. One police officer was injured in the attack and is receiving treatment at the National Trauma Centre.
Police allege that Tamang was involved in defrauding people by showing them bundles of paper disguised as US dollars.
According to SSP Ghimire, on October 8, Tamang contacted several people by phone, claiming he had US dollars and could exchange them at a cheaper rate. He allegedly gained their trust by offering to exchange genuine US$50 notes.
Police say he then called two people to Lasuntar in Gokarneshwor on October 9 and robbed each of them of Rs 800,000 before fleeing.
Investigators say Tamang operated through different groups and carried out similar frauds in various parts of the Kathmandu Valley.
A check of his Criminal Record System (CRS) profile revealed that eight fraud cases had previously been registered against him.
The records show that a fraud case was registered against him at the Swayambhu Police Circle on December 1, 2023, followed by another at the same police circle on March 6, 2024.
Further cases were registered at the Bhaktapur District Police Range on July 23, 2024; the Swayambhu Police Circle on October 17, 2024; and the Area Police Office in Bahrabise, Sindhupalchok, on December 2, 2025.
Police records also show cases registered at the Maharajgunj Police Circle on December 14, 2025; the Boudha Police Circle on December 17, 2025; and the Satdobato Police Circle on March 22, 2026.
Police say Tamang had recently been active in Swayambhu, Budhanilkantha and Sankhu, where he allegedly defrauded people by presenting fake gold as genuine.
Investigators suspect he may also have been involved in other similar incidents, as his appearance reportedly matches descriptions provided in previous cases.
Police say an examination of his mobile phone revealed photographs and contact numbers of hotels, restaurants, jewellery shops, hardware stores, medical shops and wholesale outlets.
According to investigators, Tamang would monitor such businesses and photograph phone numbers displayed on their signboards. He would then call people using those numbers, claiming to have stayed at their hotels or bought goods from their shops to establish familiarity and gain their trust.
Once people believed they knew him, he would offer to exchange dollars at a favourable rate and arrange to meet them in isolated locations, where they would be robbed, police allege.
To make the scheme more convincing, Tamang allegedly instructed one member of his group to pretend to be unable to speak. That person would be given the supposed dollars and made to take part in the transaction.
Police say the suspects would hand over a bundle containing genuine dollar notes on the outside and paper inside, take the victims’ money and flee.
They would then escape on motorcycles, changing the number plates and SIM cards to avoid being traced, according to police.
