Key Takeaways:
- Forty-two Indian workers and family members were rescued from a brick kiln
- Workers were stranded after their contractor became unreachable
- Police safely transported the group to the Gaur border point
- Authorities have launched a search for the missing contractor
Police have rescued 42 Indian workers and their dependent children who were stranded at a brick kiln in Rautahat after the Indian contractor who brought them to Nepal became unreachable.
According to police, the rescued group comprised 12 men, 11 women, 10 boys and nine girls. They had been brought from India to work at Madina Brick Kiln Industry, operated by Mahamad Mujamil.
Acting on information that the workers and their families were stranded at the kiln, a joint team from the District Police Office, Rautahat, and the Area Police Office, Laxminiya Vijaypur, carried out the rescue operation.
Information Officer Basant Gautam of the District Police Office, Rautahat, said the workers and their dependent family members were rescued safely and transported towards the Gaur customs point on Sunday evening.
The group was sent on a bus and later handed over to India's Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and local authorities with the cooperation of Indian border security agencies, police said.
According to Gautam, the workers had been brought to Nepal by an Indian contractor who subsequently became unreachable, leaving them stranded at the brick kiln.
Police have launched a search operation to locate the contractor and determine the circumstances that led to the workers being left behind.
The incident has raised concerns about the monitoring, safety and management of cross-border labourers brought to Nepal through contractors, particularly in border districts where seasonal labour migration is common.