Birendra Prasad Mandal of Rangeli-4, Morang, has been arrested for his attempting to producing fake documents to acquire Nepali citizenship for his Indian son-in-law.

 Birendra was apprehended from Regional Administration Office in Rangeli on Monday with the fake documents with which he was planning to obtain a Nepali citizenship for his son-in-law Suraj Kumar Mandal, who hails from Araria in the Indian state of Bihar.

A police officer involved in the investigation said that Birendra had assured to arrange Nepali citizenship to his son-in-law as a dowry gift. Birendra had presented a document claiming that Suraj was his son, so that the latter could get a Nepali citizenship. Birendra had paid Rs 17,000 as bribe to the employees of Rangeli Municipality to obtain Suraj’s birth registration two years ago. Birendra’s son-in-law Suraj is at large, police said.

Executive officer at Rangeli Municipality Ganesh Karki has vowed to investigate the office employees who had helped Birendra prepare fake birth registration document. Gifting Nepali citizenship as a dowry to Indian son-inlaws in not uncommon in Morang, an official at the District Development Committee said. He claimed that hundreds of Indian men, who are married to women from villages in Morang that shares border with India, have taken Nepali citizenship using fake documents.