Kathmandu, October 21

Police have nabbed a person who is said to be running a covert sex trade racket inside Kathmandu, especially in Thamel area, by luring and coercing poor girls from across the country into the trade.

Tanka Bahadur Majhi, 31, of Bhaktipur Rural Municipality-1 of Sarlahi district was arrested today morning at around 6:30am from Nagpokhari, Kathmandu. Majhi was arrested inside a rented taxi along with three girls. Police said that the girls rescued from the taxi were forced into sex trade last night in various hotels of Thamel.

Majhi is believed to be running a sex trade racket and controls a large number of such girls in according to police.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Hobindra Bogati at Metropolitan Police Range Teku said, “Majhi would often receive calls from various sources regarding the demand of young girls for sex. He would then collect girls from various places of Kathmandu who were kept in rented rooms.”

The next morning, Majhi would go back to the hotels and pick them up and drop them back to their rented rooms. Bogati also said that three rescued girls had separate rooms at Balaju.

“These rescued girls were in poor health, most of them drunk,” DSP Bogati said.

After being rescued, the girls reported to police that Majhi had first promised to provide them good jobs and called them to Kathmandu from their home districts.

But, Majhi would eventually get them involved in the sex trade saying the girls did not have any option left. “These women have told the police about being beaten up by Majhi,” DSP Bogati said.

Santosh Singh Rathore, DSP at Metropolitan Police Circle, Lainchaur said that most of the girls found involved in sex trade in the area were coerced into the illicit business by someone else.

“These girls normally come from underprivileged family background. They are lured into the capital with the promise of good job, but months after their visit they are not provided any option but to get involved in the sex trade.”

Meanwhile, police have sent two of the girls to shelter homes and one girl was handed over to her guardians who were residing here in Kathmandu. Kathmandu District Court has remanded Majhi to eight days judicial custody.