Kathmandu, March 28:

A day after the Nepal Tourism Board claimed that the four Polish trekkers, who reportedly went missing from Jiri-Lukla trekking route and reached Lukla safely yesterday, were not abducted by the Maoists, the Nepal Esperanto Association (NEA) today said the trekkers had to pay some money to keep themselves safe and free.

It however has not clarified whom the Polish trekkers paid the money. Issuing a press release, the NEA said it received information that thetrekkers were in trouble and they arrived in Lukla on Monday “by paying some money” to keep themselves free and safe. The NEA on Friday and HU RON on Sunday had claimed that the Maoists had abducted the trekkers.

The NTB had refuted the abduction claims as ‘misleading’ and said, “Fact has been established that they were not abducted”. Maoists had also denied kidnapping the trekkers, according to news reports.