TikTok posts falsely claim arrest of Arzu Rana Deuba in India

TikTok post claiming Deuba fleed Delhi for Singapore

Arzu Rana Deuba, a lawmaker from the Nepali Congress, recently traveled to New Delhi, the capital of India. However, her trip sparked unverified news reports in mainstream media and misinformation on social media. TikTok users claimed that she was arrested in New Delhi over her alleged involvement in a Bhutanese refugee scam.

TikTok user @shauravk9 posted photos of Deuba alongside Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane, falsely claiming that she was attempting to flee to Singapore from New Delhi due to an alleged arrest order issued by Lamichhane. In a similar post, @raznabin3 claimed that she was arrested in New Delhi. In the first post, the text superimposed on the photo of Deuba along with an audio read: “National Bhauju (wife of elder brother in Nepali) fleeing Delhi for Singapore. Arzu Deuba linked to the Bhutanese refugee scam. Home Minister Rabi (Lamichhane) made a direct call to her.”

TikTok post claiming Deuba was arrested in New Delhi

TikTok user @raznabin3’s post read, “Rabi (Lamichhane) arrested Arzu (Rana) in Delhi over a fake refugee scam. It doesn’t matter if we call Arzu the most corrupt woman in the world because there’s no woman who has engaged in corruption more than her.” Together, the two posts have been viewed tens of thousands of times.

Both users’ claims came in the wake of high-profile arrests in Nepal, including that of former speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara, allegedly involved in a gold smuggling case (Mahara, a Maoist politician, was released by the police).

In July last year, police recovered a leaked audio recording from a suspect in the refugee scam which suggested Deuba received bribes from the suspect. She had denied allegations. Police haven’t probed into the case linking her.

These claims were debunked by Deuba through a press statement, where she clarified that she had undergone surgery for hyperparathyroidism at Max Hospital in New Delhi and had left Nepal on March 15 after informing the Federal Parliament. Additionally, she posted a photo of herself recuperating in a hospital bed on her Facebook page.

Therefore, the claim that Deuba was arrested in New Delhi or that she was planning to flee to Singapore is false. 

ClaimClaimed byNepal Check Verdict
Nepali Congress MP Arzu Rana Deuba was arrested in New DelhiTikTok usersFalse
Nepal Check verdict after fact-checking claims that Arzu Rana Deuba was arrested in New Delhi following orders issued by Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane.

Deepak Adhikari's avatar

This article is written by

Deepak Adhikari

Deepak Adhikari is the editor of Nepal Check. Over the last two decades, he has worked as a correspondent for international media and national publications in Nepal. His work has appeared in major international publications such as New York Times, The Guardian, Time, Al Jazeera, Nikkei Asia.