Kathmandu, November 12
Former Deputy Prime Minister and CPN-UML leader Top Bahadur Rayamajhi has been released from prison under provisions granting sentence reductions to senior citizens.
Rayamajhi, who was serving his sentence at Dillibazar Prison in connection with the fake Bhutanese refugee scam, was released on the basis of the facilities available to senior citizens. He was handed over to the custody of his wife, according to prison sources.
“He was handed over to his wife and some other family members. He left the prison this morning,” a prison source said.
Top Bahadur Rayamajhi has turned 65. He had filed an application at the court seeking release, arguing that he was entitled to the facilities granted to senior citizens.
Following his application, the court issued a revised prison warrant allowing him to benefit from the provisions for senior citizens. The Kathmandu District Court also sent a letter to the prison office informing it of the decision.
Under the existing legal provision, senior citizens are entitled to a 25 per cent reduction in their prison sentences.
Rayamajhi was arrested on May 15, 2023, in connection with the fake Bhutanese refugee scam. He had been sentenced to four years in prison and fined Rs 40,000.
The court had convicted the former deputy prime minister of fraud, organised crime and offences against the state.
He was sentenced to two years in prison and fined Rs 20,000 for fraud, three years and Rs 30,000 for organised crime, and one year and six months and Rs 15,000 for offences against the state, along with an additional six months’ imprisonment under the same offence.
After accounting for the overlapping sentences, the court had imposed an aggregate sentence of four years in prison and a fine of Rs 40,000.
