Kathmandu, September 23

Police have rescued seven women being trafficked to Iraq via New Delhi and arrested two alleged human traffickers from the capital.

The women aged 18 to 32 years were lured into going to New Delhi via Kakarbhitta of Jhapa with the promise of lucrative jobs in the war-ravaged Kurdistan, an autonomous region in Iraq.

The suspects have been identified as Dawa Dorje Tamang, 32, and Dawa Tamang, 28, who were trying to traffic the women to New Delhi.

DSP Dilli Raj Panta, in-charge of the Metropolitan Police Circle, Thankot, said the two suspects were arrested from a bus heading for Jhapa yesterday.

“We had stopped the bus for regular security check. During interrogation, the suspects said the women were going to New Delhi to meet their relatives. Later, the women admitted that they were being taken to New Delhi for visa and documentation to fly to Kurdistan. They also said that they had been promised 350 US dollars a month,” DSP Panta informed.

Six of the rescued women are from Sindhulapchowk and one from Gorkha. Sindhupalchowk and Gorkha districts were worst affected by the recent earthquakes. The Tamang duo had assured the women of free visa. The Kathmandu District Court has remanded them to seven-day judicial custody for further investigation.

According to the police, incidents of human trafficking have increased by around 50 per cent after the April 25 earthquake. Police officials said vigilance has been upped in quake-affected areas, makeshift camps, transits of the Kathmandu Valley and international borders to curb human trafficking.

Earlier, police had rescued at least 100 women and girls, who were being trafficked in the name of rescue and rehabilitation. Officials said women and children are lured into the worst form of slavery by traffickers.