KATHMANDU, Jan 5: India has rescued seven Nepali girls from Kenya while they were being sold by India-based human traffickers.
According to Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, the seven Nepali girls were rescued along with three Indian girls from the African country.
21 Nepali girls rescued from Kenyan strip clubs
“We have rescued three Indian girls from Kenya. The girls were victims of an organized crime syndicate that indulged in trafficking of girls. Seven Nepalese girls were also rescued,” Minister Swaraj said in a tweet on Thursday.
The traffickers had confiscated the passports and cell phones of the girls who were held captive in Mombasa, according to Minister Swaraj. The rescued girls were flown back to India and authorities in India are preparing to register cases against the agents and people involved.
Although Minister Swaraj publicly claimed that Indian authorities had rescued seven Nepali girls along with three Indian girls, officials in Kathmandu expressed ignorance about it.
“We do not have any official information about it. We have asked our embassy based in South Africa to learn about the incident and report to us in Kathmandu,” said Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Bharat Raj Paudyal.
Girls from various countries in South Asia are often trafficked to African countries including Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania for entertainment industry like dance bars. A large number of Nepali girls are said to have been trafficked to those countries by unscrupulous manpower agents based in India.
