Officer held for aiding illegal migration

Kathmandu, August 7

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority today arrested an immigration official of Tribhuvan International Airport for allegedly colluding with agents to grant departure permission to youths on visit visa in an unauthorised manner.

Joint Secretary Pradeep Kumar Koirala, CIAA spokesperson said Kamal Prasad Parajuli was taken into custody for further investigation for his involvement in allowing some youths to fly to Dubai and Qatar on visit visa. The CIAA swung into action after it received complaints against Parajuli’s wrongdoings.

According to the anti-graft body, Parajuli colluded with agents to send the youths to Gulf countries without following rules on work permit. He was found putting departure stamps on their visas without maintaining their records to cover up his unethical acts. Spokesperson Koirala said an investigation was launched into the incident.

Arrest of Parajali showed how the government officials were working in collusion with human traffickers for a fast buck. In 2017, International Relations and Labour Committee of the Parliament had asserted that racketeers were working in collusion with immigration officials at TIA to traffic Nepali youths to Gulf countries.

According to a study conducted by the parliamentary panel, human trafficking was not possible without collusion with government officials. The panel also found that around 60 per cent of Nepali women employed as housemaids in the Gulf left for destination countries from TIA on tourist visa. The government had imposed a ban on Nepali women to work as domestic helpers in Gulf countries in 2017, to protect them from forced labour, trafficking and other forms of exploitation. The protectionist measure of the government has failed to deter agents active in sending women to Gulf countries for domestic works through illegal means.

In the past, Nepali women and girls trafficked by crime syndicates used to end up in Indian cities like New Delhi and Mumbai. Now trafficking of Nepali women and girls is not limited to the neighbouring country. The web of trafficking has spread to Gulf, Middle East, Africa and Latin America, according to a report by the Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police.