Indian National Arrested at Gautam Buddha Airport with Rs 795,000 Indian Currency While Boarding Flight to Kathmandu

An Indian national has been arrested at Gautam Buddha International Airport (Bhairahawa) while attempting to travel to Kathmandu with Indian currency worth Rs 795,000. The individual, identified as 59-year-old Bhima Srinivas from Prakasam district in India’s Andhra Pradesh state, was about to board a Buddha Air flight when the cash was detected during an X-ray scan of his hand luggage at the domestic terminal.

According to police, a total of 1,590 banknotes of Indian currency in the denomination of Rs 500 were recovered from a brown handbag carried by Srinivas. The total value of the seized cash is Rs 795,000 Indian rupees. Police have taken Srinivas into custody along with the cash and initiated necessary investigations, according to Deputy Inspector General Bhupendra Bahadur Khatri, Chief of Lumbini Provincial Police Office. The arrested individual and the cash have been sent to Rupandehi District Police Office for further investigation, informed SP Sharada Prasad Chaudhary, Information Officer at Lumbini Provincial Police Office.

Separately, an orientation program on legal issues related to human trafficking and transportation was held in Bhairahawa. The program, organized by Maiti Nepal Bhairahawa in coordination with the Saksham Sahara Multipurpose Women’s Group, was attended by 28 participants, including adolescent girls and women. Program Coordinator Maya Kshetri of Maiti Nepal Bhairahawa made a presentation, providing awareness-raising information on how to avoid human trafficking, why and how trafficking occurs, and the legal provisions. The program was chaired by women’s group president Sachita Aryal and attended by group general secretary Lajina Devkota, Shanta Bhandari, Tulsi Basnet, Mina Singh Kshetri, Khimkumari Thapa, Kalpana Gyawali, Dhara Panthi, and Siddharthanagar Child Club President Tara Belbase.