8 Indians charged with abduction human trafficking in Nepal

Kathmandu, Apr 16 (PTI) Eight Indian nationals have been charged under various sections of Acts related to human trafficking, organised crime and abduction here two months after they were arrested for duping 11 compatriots on the promise of lucrative jobs abroad, police said on Tuesday.
     In mid-February, 11 Indians, mostly students, were held hostage for over two weeks with a promise to facilitate travel to the USA. They were rescued after Nepal police bust a human trafficking racket and arrested eight Indian mafia members along with their Nepali accomplice.
     The police have submitted an investigation report to register cases against the eight Indian nationals for the crime at the Kathmandu District Attorney’s Office.
     The arrested include Abdul Rahim, Charanjit Singh, Nipun Gupta, Ramchandra Sharma, Hindu Singh Yadav, Ashok Kumar, Ravi Mewade and Manish Kumar Malhotra, according to Kathmandu District Police Circle statement.
     Named as ‘Dunki Operation’ as the case turned out to be similar to the situation shown in popular Indian actor Sharukh Khan’s 2023 movie Dunki, Nepal police said, the 11 persons were kept as hostages in a rented house for more than a month on the outskirts of Kathmandu.
     Acting on a tip-off, police raided a private residence belonging to a Nepali national at Dhobikhola Corridor, Ratopul and rescued those 11 Indians, who were taken as hostage in the pretext of sending them to USA via Mexico.
     The agents, including the Indian mafia members, charged the Indian nationals, mostly students, Rs 4.5 million per person with the false promise of sending to USA and additional USD 3,000 were charged as visa fee upon their arrival in Kathmandu.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)