Sixty Nepali working in Delhi, NCR get fired due to the Khatri theft case
Dhangadhi: A 61- year-old builder, Rambool Singh and his family left their house to go to the market to shop on the 12th of July in New Delhi. The Singh family was busy making preparation for their younger daughter's wedding which was to take place in October.
They left their house under the care of their Nepalese security guard, Niraj Khatri. Niraj Khatri and his wife Kamala had been working at Rambhool Singh's house for the past four months, Niraj Khatri's wife Kamala was the housemaid to Singh's family while Niraj was made in charge of the security.
Approximately 8 million Nepalese citizens live in India in search of work or education. Most Nepalese men are hired as security guards due to the old existing stereotype created by Bollywood movies where comic security guards were characterized as Nepali guards with thick Nepali accents. However, due to recent incidents of theft, almost 60 Nepalese who worked in the Delhi and NCR areas have been fired.
Why did Nepali citizens get fired from their jobs even after being loyal for years?
Niraj Khatri and his wife Kamala Adhikari from the Bajura district used to work at Rambhool Singh's house in Gyan Vihar, New Delhi, India. The couple, who worked for about 4 months, absconded with 2 lockers of 30 kilos which had 3.5 kilos of gold and 38 lakhs in cash. The crime was committed on the 12th of July at 11:30 am while the family had gone out to shop in the market.
When Singh returned home after two and a half hours his ancestral jewellery had already been stolen. He reported to the police after noticing that his lockers were stolen and Niraj Khatri was nowhere to be found. However, the Indian police could not arrest Niraj Khatri and his associates, who entered Nepal through a stealth route by booking a taxi for 18,000 INR. Niraj's group looted the jewellery passed down by 4 generations. Singh had kept the jewellery in the house as they were preparing for their daughter's wedding. During this incident, Singh who was a heart patient suffered a third heart attack while coping with the pressure of the incident.
It has been revealed that Niraj Khatri, the main mastermind behind the theft, involved three people in it. It has been revealed from the investigation that after stealing all the wealth, those involved with him entered Nepal via Khatima from Bareilly.
After this incident, many Indian citizens who had hired Nepalese to work in their homes were fired. Saurav Gaur an Indian citizen from Mayur Vihar, New Delhi informed Dineshkhabar that he fired his Nepali employee after Singh's incident.
He said, "all the Nepalis in the vicinity know each other, the man I fired was a close friend of Niraj. There are few houses in their villages, and most of them are neighbours. How could we trust them after this? Many people including me fired their Nepali employees. Many IPS officers, IS officers, government officers and businessmen had Nepali workers; it was very risky to employ them after this incident”. So almost 60 Nepalese were fired from Delhi and the NCR areas due to a theft of crores planned by a couple
It has been revealed that Niraj Khatri, who worked as a security guard in Singh's house in Gyan Vihar, New Delhi, and Niraj's wife Kamala, who worked as a housemaid, stole their lockers with jewellery and cash.
It is also seen from the records of the Delhi Police that Niraj has been involved in theft in various places in Delhi for a long time. Niraj's innocent-looking wife easily got hired as a maid and he would take up the job of a security guard and commit theft.
When Singh and his family went to the market for shopping, Niraj Khatri called people from Dhangadhi and stole 38 lakh Indian currency and 3.5 kg gold inside of 2 lockers weighing 30 kg and entered Nepal. Gokul Shah, Akshay Khatri, and Hikmat Khatri went to India from Dhangadhi to help Niraj Khatri stealing
Niraj took a leave for his wife Kamala Adhikari a week before the theft on the pretext that her mother was ill in Nepal. However, he kept his wife in Gurgaon and she never returned to Nepal for her mother's treatment.
After all the ancestral property was stolen, the victim Singh reached out to the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi. But the embassy informed them that they only handled problems of Nepali citizens. Thereafter, he directly visited the Indian embassy in Kathmandu to report the incident. Neha Pandey, the chief officer of the embassy, spoke to the senior officers of the Nepal Police and the victim Singh managed to get in touch with the Nepal Police.
The perpetrators have also been involved in murder and kidnapping cases in the past!
Niraj Khatri is the same person who kidnapped a government official's daughter in Delhi and demanded a ransom of 2 crores. Delhi Police records that Niraj Khatri was involved in thefts at 10 places in Gurugram. Besides that, it is revealed that there is also a case of murder registered against him.
The CCTV footage shows that Niraj was accompanied by his brother Akshay and Hikmat in the robbery at Rambhool Singh's house. Singh reached Bajura from New Delhi with the CCTV footage of those involved in the theft. Niraj Khatri's wife Kamala Adhikari was detained by the Bajura police for less than a day. The police took 2 hours before beginning the investigation. The Bajura police found some of Singh's ancestral jewellery and Indian currency with Kamala but she was sent home after general questioning.
Are the police supporting the perpetrators?
The police claimed that Kamala Adhikari was not involved in the theft as she had returned to Nepal before the theft. But according to the information given by the police, when Kamala, who was involved in the theft, was called to the District Police Office Bajura for questioning, 12 grams of gold and 21 thousand Indian rupees were found in her possession. The police claimed to have left her on bail. When Singh's family asked the Bajura police to accompany them to Niraj Khatri's village in Triveni Municipality the inspector refused and said that the locals would pelt stones at them. The police also demanded re-orders from the DSP, but by the time Singh's family convinced the police, eight hours had passed and Niraj Khatri had fled.
Recently, a well-wisher of the Singh family informed them that Gokul Shah from Dhangadhi Sub-Metropolitan was spotted in Thamel Marg with Akshay Khatri. Akshay Khatri was found posting a video on social media where he is wearing a gold chain owned by Singh's son-in-law. While the Singh family was visiting Bajura, Niraj Khatri, Gokul Shah and Akshay Khatri were vacationing in Pokhara and they have recently reached Kathmandu. The gang involved in the theft has not refrained from posting videos on social media which reflects their lack of fear in them.
DSP Surya Thapa of District Police Office Bajura said that Kailali Police is also looking for those involved in the theft from Kailali. However, the victim complains that the Bajura police gave immunity instead of helping despite the gold and cash being found with Kamala by the police as evidence.
State police instructs to arrest those involved in the theft
The Sudurpaschim Province Police Office, Dhangadhi, has instructed the concerned district to arrest those involved in the theft. Mohan Kumar Acharya, Deputy Inspector General of Police of the Far Western Province Police Office, Dhangadhi, said that there has been an increase in complaints about theft in various cities of India.
"Only a few days ago, a complaint was logged about 4.7 million Indian rupees being stolen from Punjab, the money was returned from Interpol," he said.
According to police, most of the thefts in India involve residents of the Kailali, Doti, Achham and Bajura districts.
The number of groups and individuals who have made theft their main profession in India is increasing day by day. Innocent Nepalis living in India said that it is difficult to get help from the Indian police even when ordinary Nepalis who go to work in India are murdered, kidnapped and raped.
Singh's daughter Dr Shiksha said, "We went to Dhangadhi to meet DIG Mohan Acharya and he appointed a special team which was led by Inspector Keshav Joshi who says that these people have done crimes before and they get away by paying off the police Rs 2000 and have done robberies 10 times."
"SP Dhangadhi also appointed inspector Sushil chand who was following up with the case and he says that we should talk to the department in Kathmandu including the IG in Kathmandu to send a special team and track them by their Tiktok and phone numbers as they don’t have the system and equipment to track phones in Far-West," she added.
How did Niraj Khatri get employed by Singh?
A Nepali security guard Naveen who works in Delhi recommended Niraj to the Singh family. In a conversation with Dineshkhabar Naveen said that Niraj's mother had rented a room near his workplace. They generally spoke to each other as they were both from the same district. "She requested me to find a job for Niraj and I recommend him. After he stole, other Nepalese told me that his family has been involved in theft since his father's generation", said Naveen.