KOHALPUR, March 28: On May 15, 2016, a 19-year-old girl of Sindhupalchowk was rescued by police from Kohalpur bus station. Lakpa Sonam Lama, 36, and Dindu Tamang, 26 of Sindhupalchowk were caught red-handed while transporting the girl to India. They had persuaded the girl in temptation of a job. They had successfully crossed all the check points while leaving their home district. After a tip off, police reached the spot and nabbed them.
Similarly, on February 26, 2017, a girl was convinced for marriage in return for a piece of land. She was taken to Punjab of India the next day. After reaching there, she was raped almost every single day by different people. After being unable to bear the torture, victim called her elder sister who was in Gadwala of India on October 15, 2017. She was somehow able to release herself from that hell and later filed a complaint against the perpetrators after returning to Nepal.
Kohalpur developing as 'transit point' for human trafficking
Likewise, on February 20, 2017, police rescued two girls from Kohalpur including a fifteen-year-old girl of Surkhet. According to police, an agent named Nirajan BK had assured jobs to them in his company based in Tulsipur of Dang. The father of one of the girls, who was accompanying them in the journey, got suspicious and reported to the police after BK told the girls to speak confidently with the police at Kohalpur border.
These cases are just the representative cases. It has been found that human traffickers have been using Kohalpur as a transit point to transport women to various countries. According to police, most of the girls are transported to India in temptation of good jobs.
Apan Bhatta, in-charge of KI Nepal, Banke informed that human trafficking is increasing with the development of technology. "Use of technology has made it easier for the traffickers to reach to the girls and women of remote villages," said Bhatta. On March 25, preparations were underway to marry a 14-year-old girl of Kohalpur with a 22-year-old boy of Puranpur, India. However, the girl got aware about the ill intention of the agents and informed her parents. Later, police arrested Shitali Nepali, 60, of Kohalpur and Suryojit Singh, 55, and Satnam Thakur, 22, of Paranpur, Jarpura from Kohalpur-12.
As per the investigation of police, the network of trafficker has been spreading rampantly in Nepal. The agents involved in attempting to transport two girls of Sindhupalchowk were paid Rs 150,000 by the traffickers. It was found that those agents were involved in the trafficking of 25 women of Sindhupalchowk before getting arrested.
"As we have tightened security in the borders, traffickers have started using airways these days," said Inspector Yagya Prasad Bhattarai, chief of Kolhapur Police.
