Nepal woman uses bogus route to fame

When one of Nepals most prominent newspapers carried a feature on 22-year-old Anuja Bania on its front page,she was immediately catapulted to fame.

When one of Nepals most prominent newspapers carried a feature on 22-year-old Anuja Bania on its front page,she was immediately catapulted to fame. Bania,who hails from the eastern city of Dharan,became a hero overninght after a story,about how she returned an unclaimed bag containing Rs 9.1 million to its rightful owner,emerged.

The story of the young hero,carried by Kantipur daily,captured the imagination of a country frustrated by stories of the corruption. President Ram Baran Yadav personally called Bania to convey the nations pride in her selfless act.

Bania,reportedly,found the bag in a bus,then traced its owner Purusottam Pokharel,of Sitapaila,Kathmadu,and returned Rs 9.1 million along with a diamond necklace to him. She refused to accept Rs 2,00,000 that Pokharel wanted to give her as a reward.

Story continues below this ad

However,the incident was too good to be true. An investigation by authorities soon revealed that Banias story was bogus. The bags owner Pokharel did not exist and there were no witnesses to the lost-and-found case.

Several questions have been raised about the episode: the most crucial being why would some one with that much money be travelling in a bus? Bank officials have also said the size of bag found could not have held the amount of money Bania claimed it had.

In Odisha, Modi mounts ‘loot tantra-vs-bachat utsav’ attack on Congress over GST

India4 min ago

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday hailed the revised Goods and Services Tax (GST) structures, saying the era of “double bachat (saving) and double kamai (income)” has arrived under the Bharatiya Janata Party rule. Addressing the ' Namo Yuva Samabesh' in Jharsuguda, Modi accused the Congress of indulging in “loot tantra (tactics)” while in power.

View all shorts

Live Blog

PHOTOS