KATHMANDU, AUGUST 13
A group of Bangladeshi human traffickers, who were operating human trafficking racket of Bangladeshi nationals into third countries via Nepal, have been arrested on the charge of hostage taking.
Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office arrested five Bangladeshi nationals and two Nepali accomplices on the charge of hostage taking of eight Bangladeshis who were lured to Nepal on the pretext of sending them to European countries.
Of those arrested Bangladeshis are Amir Hossen, 47, MD Moshiur Rahaman, 37, Salim Miya, 38, Jahangir Alam, 21, and Tahmina Gegum 21. Similarly, Tara Nepali, 27, of Sindhupalchowk and Rohani Rai, 33, of Ilam have also been arrested for facilitating the racketeers in Nepal.
The arrest was made possible after one of the eight Bangladeshi hostages Abu Bakar Siddique was able to escape the clutches of traffickers and reach the traffic police office in Bhrikutimandap to report the crime.
On the basis of the report, police were able to rescue four hostages from a guest house in Kalimatidol who were living inside the rooms rented by one of the traffickers Amir Hossen. After Amir's arrest, two more were rescued from Harisiddhi-based rented apartment operated by other offenders and additional two female Bangladeshis were rescued from a Naxal-based massage centre that was operated under the name of KTC Beauty Parlour and Spa.
The traffickers had collected ransom money of one million BDT from the families of those who were taken hostage with them. The money was sent to Nepal via banking system.
The dreams of Bangladeshi people who were still hoping to fly to their dream country were shattered after the racketeers started demanding more money from their loved ones, threatening to kill them if they failed to pay up.
A version of this article appears in the print on August 14, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
