Kathmandu, Sept. 27 -- A major trafficking scandal has alarmed Nepal's immigration system, with investigators alleging that more than 6,000 Indian citizens were illegally flown to third countries from Kathmandu airport under the watch of a senior government official.

According to the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), Tirtha Raj Bhattarai, then chief of the Tribhuvan International Airport Immigration Office, facilitated the departures without the mandatory "No Objection Certificate" (NOC). He held the position between October 2024 and May 2025.

Investigators say each Indian passenger paid between $1,000 and $2,000, money that allegedly travelled through middlemen and senior figures in the home ministry may ha...