Kathmandu- Four Indian nationals accused of carrying out a sophisticated gambling fraud at Waldo Casino in Chhaya Center, Thamel, have been sent to judicial custody, while three others have been released on bail.
The Kathmandu District Court ordered the remand of Suresh Mahajan (57), Pramod Maurya (39), Bikram Singh (32), and Dinesh Verma (37), all Indian citizens, on charges of fraud. According to SP and spokesperson of the District Police Range, Kathmandu, Pawan Kumar Bhattarai, the four have been sent to Sundharajal Central Jail.
Meanwhile, Chija Khadka (35) of Sunsari and Bhawani Pandey (40) of Kathmandu were released after posting bail of Rs 100,000 each. A Chinese national, Wang Pufa Yan Hou, was released on bail of Rs 500,000.
Police said several casino operators are absconding in connection with the case. Those at large include Janardan Upreti alias Binod, Gaurav Khatri, Neeraj Kumar alias Monu, Hira Shekhar Malli Puri, and Kamal Kharbanda alias Mukesh.
High-tech gambling scheme
According to police investigations, the group attempted to defraud casinos and players of millions of rupees using magnetically modified playing cards and special contact lenses that enabled wearers to identify cards held by other players.
The operation was allegedly led by Suresh Mahajan, an Indian national, with logistical support from Nepali associates. Mahajan reportedly booked Waldo Casino for four days, from December 11 to 14, under the name of a group called ‘Mahakaya’, claiming he was organizing an international casino event.
As part of the plan, the group booked 110 rooms across multiple five-star hotels in Kathmandu, including Aloft, Marriott, and Radisson, to accommodate participants and dummy players.
Police said Mahajan used playing cards embedded with magnets and chips, along with specially designed contact lenses. Dummy players wearing the lenses could receive real-time information about the cards in play, allowing coordinated betting and manipulation of games.
Dummy players and profit-sharing
Investigations revealed that professional gamblers and individuals with large sums of money were brought from India to act as dummy players. These players were allegedly paid Rs 10,000 per day, along with 10 percent of the winnings.
Police said the contact lenses were effective for only two to three hours, after which players were rotated to continue the scheme without detection.
During raids conducted after receiving intelligence, police arrested seven individuals linked to the operation. Although no large cash amounts were recovered on the first day, investigators later found evidence that similar casino events had previously been run by Mahajan in Nepal and other countries, including India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Cambodia.
Authorities say further investigations are ongoing, and efforts are underway to arrest the absconding suspects and determine the full financial scale of the fraud.
