More Nepali women rescued from Delhi
We have laws, but they are not being implemented
Kathmandu, August 1
In a third rescue operation in one week, the Delhi Commission for Women today rescued 39 Nepali women who were to be trafficked to Gulf countries from Hotel Hriday Inn in Paharganj, New Delhi.
With this, the number of Nepali women rescued from the Indian capital over the past week has reached 71. The women were rescued from Delhi’s Munirka, Maidangarhi and Paharganj areas.
“The raid lasted the entire night and assistance was provided by Delhi Police. The entire hotel had only trafficked Nepali girls who were being sent to Gulf countries,” DCW Chairperson Swati Maliwal tweeted.
The rescued women were taken to Paharganj Police Station where they underwent necessary medical check-up. Maliwal also tweeted that the police were forcing Nepali women to change their statements in a bid to safeguard traffickers. “It is a shameful act on the part of Delhi Police as it has yet to register an FIR,” she tweeted in the evening.
In a separate raid conducted yesterday with the assistance of Banaras police at Maidangarhi, DCW had rescued 18 women, including 16 Nepalis and two Indians, according to Maliwal. Although only 18 women were rescued, the team recovered 68 passports, including 61 Nepali, from the site. The DCW said the police arrested three suspected racketeers, while the rescued women were sent to a shelter for women.
“They were kept in a small room and did not know about their destination. The rescue was possible after one of the women escaped from captivity and lodged an FIR with the Banaras police” Maliwal told mediapersons.
According to Maliwal, the women were being sent to Kuwait and Iraq.
She said the issue should be tackled by the Indian and Nepali governments seriously.
Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens Under-secretary Roshni Kumari Karki, who is also the chief of the ministry’s human trafficking control division, said the ministry was yet to be officially informed about the 39 women rescued from Delhi.
According to her, National Human Rights Commission has enquired about the condition of the rescued women. “We are in touch with the foreign ministry,” Karki told THT. “We have laws, but implementation has been lax,” she said.
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