Seven rescued from being trafficked Gaddachouki

MAHENDRANAGAR, March 24: Nepal Police rescued seven persons who were being taken to Kyrgyzstan via New Delhi of India for foreign employment from Gaddachouki of the western border today morning.

Suspecting that they were being trafficked security personnel had stopped the four girls and three men, who had reached India on the Kathmandu-Delhi bus at the border. Of them, six are from Sindhupalchowk and one is from Morang, said police. They have been kept at District Police Office, Kanchanpur, for interrogation.

Kanchanpur SP Bishwo Niranjan Pradhan said the youths were not allowed to go to Kyrgyzstan, as the government of Nepal had restricted its nationals from going there. “They don’t have any documents except their citizenship certificate, they are not skilled and educated either. They don’t know what job they are going to do,” said Pradhan.

The victims have been identified as Sonam Dharke Tamang, 57, of Marging-7 and his 18-year-old daughter Pasang Lhamu, his 23-year-old cousin Gyazeng and in-law Puja, 21-year-old Dhanmaya Tamang of Mangkha-2, her 19-year-old brother Dawa Tsering of Sindhupalchowk and Susmita Rai, 19 of Sundarpur-6, Morang.

According to police, though Dhanmaya and Susmita accepted that they were going to Kyrgyzstan via Delhi, Sonam said that they were going to Himanchal Pradesh of India. “There is a hotel in Himanchal and all of us are going for jobs there,” said Sonam to mediapersons. However, police said that Sonam’s remarks lacked credibility. However, Susmita and Dhanmaya said that they were going to Kyrgyzstan via Delhi after meeting the kin of the foreign employment agent in India. Susmita said to police, “The agent in Nepal said that an agent would come to receive us in Delhi and help send us to Kyrgyzstan, where we were assured of Rs 30,000 income per month. She also said her brother Dawa was accompanying them up to Delhi only.

Susmita also said that they had paid Rs 200,000 to the agent, but they were unaware of his name and identity.

Meanwhile, Maiti Nepal Kanchanpur Coordinator Maheshwori Bhatta, said both the girls said during interrogation that they were going to Kyrgyzstan. “As there has been a surged in human trafficking by relatives of late, there are grounds to suspect in this case as well,” said Bhatta. According to her, the girls at at Maiti Nepal’s shelter from where they will be handed over to their kin.