Kathmandu, August 4

As many as 27 women, who were rescued in New Delhi two weeks ago and prevented from being trafficked to Dubai, returned home today after Indian authorities handed them over to the Government of Nepal.

The women aged 20 to 40 were brought to Nepal on Nepal Airlines plane at around 12:45pm at the initiative of the Indian Embassy in New Delhi, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare.

Earlier, Indian authorities had handed over the rescued women to Nari Niketan, a Delhi-based, social organisation, for repatriation=. Their air ticket was borne by the government.

Officials at the Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police received the women at TIA. A CIB official informed that the rescued women were in their custody for further investigation into the human trafficking ring.

The women were set to be trafficked to Dubai with the promise of lucrative job in dance bars. This came to light after Delhi Police arrested Bishnu Tamang, 29, and Ishwori Neupane, 32, of Nepal from Mahipalpur, Delhi on July 25. They have been sent to Tihar Jail, Delhi, for court proceedings.

Based on the duo’s explanations, police found the whereabouts of the women who were taken to Delhi on different dates following the April 25 earthquake that rattled Nepal.

Police officials said the agents had lured the women into going to Delhi with the promise of ‘respectful and lucrative job’ in Dubai by using fake travel documents and wrongful means.

According to Indian media reports, Tamang and Neupane arrived in India in 2014 and 2013, respectively, and began trafficking Nepali women to Middle East countries after developing contacts with some Nepali agents.