Kathmandu, April 30:

People duped by foreign employment agencies today staged a protest on the premises of the Department of Labour and Employment Promotion (DLEP), demanding action against culprits.

The demonstrators chanted slogans against the DLEP for protecting ‘cheats’ instead of taking action against them. “The agencies cannot cheat anyone if the officials do not confirm the fake documents submitted to the department,” said Gagan Rai who was allegedly cheated by the Lama International Manpower.

The owner of the manpower, Bhakta Bahadur Lama, has gone underground for the last three days. Promising the applicants that he would send them to Bahrain, Lama had collected Rs 120,000 from each applicant. “We want him not our money back,” said Deependra Lama.

Ram Raja Gautam, general secretary of the Foreign Employment Victims Association, said the protest would continue.