Women rescued from Delhi repatriated to Nepal

Kathmandu, July 31

The 16 women who were rescued from Delhi earlier this month were repatriated to Nepal today.

Crime Investigation Bureau of Nepal police received them at Tribhuvan International Airport and took them to CIB headquarters in Kathmandu for questioning.

The women, who were being trafficked to Kuwait and Dubai, were rescued from Delhi’s Munirka area by a joint team of Delhi Police, Delhi Commission for Women and a non-government organisation, KI Nepal.

“After CIB is through with questioning, the women will have the option of staying at a vocational centre to learn skills that will help them earn a living or they can return to their families,” KI Nepal’s Programme Director Indraraj Bhattarai, who accompanied them on their flight to Delhi, told THT.

According to Bhattarai, the person(s) involved in their trafficking will be booked soon. Indian police have already arrested a Nepali national on the charge of picking the women from Gorakhapur in India.

Most of the rescued women said they were compelled to seek employment in foreign destinations due to unemployment in Nepal. They have sought written commitment that they will be provided employment opportunities in Nepal.

According to Bhattarai, five of the rescued women had already been to Kuwait, Dubai, Oman and Lebanon, while others were on their maiden trip to the Gulf.

A team from the Nepali Embassy to Delhi led by Deputy Chief of Mission Bharat Kumar Regmi had met the women in Delhi. Most of them said they were in Delhi willingly and they ought to be allowed to go to the Gulf.

However, the Nepal government has imposed a ban on Nepali women from travelling to labour destinations via New Delhi, and the same has been conveyed to Indian immigration authorities.

But traffickers produce fake ‘No Objection Certificates’ of the embassy to dodge immigration authorities. Two weeks ago, the same trafficker had sent seven Nepali women to Gulf destinations using a similar modus operandi.

The rescued women hail from Sindhupalchowk, Nuwakot, Morang, Makawanpur, Kapilvastu and Arghakhachi.

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