Kathmandu, December 4

Police have begun a fresh crackdown on dhukuti credit schemes, which was outlawed by the Nepal Rastra Bank in 2002.

The law enforcement agency says the dhukuti credit scheme has given rise to domestic violence, and social and financial crimes.

Police on Tuesday raided Rabi Bhavan-based Sunlight Cafe and arrested 12 persons, including Gaurav Adhikari (22) of Kavre, on charges of operating the illegal scheme. The cops also confiscated Rs 168,790 and various documents related to the scheme.

On February 25, police had arrested 10 persons with cash and cheques worth over four million rupees on the charge of operating dhukuti scheme from a house in Dallu.

Earlier, 25 persons, including 23 women, were arrested from the capital for allegedly operating dhukuti scheme. Police also confiscated Rs 2.61 million, their transaction records and a calculator from them.

According to police, engagement of women is higher than male in the dhukuti scheme. Victims go to the police after dhukuti operators make off with money collected from them.

A police official said that an estimated 5,000 groups were involved in dhukuti schemes.

In the budget for the fiscal year 2015-16, the government announced that it would mobilise security agencies to maintain law and order check criminal activities such as robbery, hooliganism, extortion and dhukuti schemes, among other things.

The government, through the budget, had also pledged to strictly enforce existing laws to end the culture of impunity and give people a sense of security.