NEW DELHI, Aug 1: In an early morning raid at a hotel in central Delhi, the Delhi Police Wednesday rescued 39 women trafficked from Nepal. In the past one week alone, 34 Nepalese women have been rescued in joint operations by Delhi Police and the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW).
The incident comes on the heels of a similar operation carried out by the Delhi and Varanasi police on Tuesday, where 18 Nepalese women — who claimed they were being trafficked to Gulf countries — were rescued from a house in southwest district. A week earlier, 16 Nepalese women were rescued from a residence in the same district, who also alleged that they were brought here by agents on the false pretext of providing jobs but were to be trafficked to Gulf countries.
Regarding Tuesday’s incident, both Delhi Police and Varanasi SSP Sureshrao A Kulkarni said the women were to be trafficked to Gulf countries and 68 passports were also recovered. “We received information about some Nepalese women being confined in a house in Varanasi last week… but when we reached, the women had already been shifted. One accused, Jai Singh, was arrested. We got a tip-off that the women had been shifted to Delhi,” Kulkarni said on Tuesday.
The Varanasi SSP had further said the age of the rescued women were between 22 and 25 years. “They were trafficked in small groups and would usually be accompanied by an Indian woman. Prima facie, it’s a case of trafficking and violation of the Immigration Act,” he said.
The incidents come at a time when the Centre is trying to bring in a strict anti-trafficking law. The Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018, saw a smooth passage in the Lok Sabha last week and currently awaits the nod of the Rajya Sabha. The bill provides for confidentiality of victims, witnesses and complainants and time-bound trials and repatriation of the victims.