16 from Nepal among 18 women rescued from south Delhi

NEWDELHI: A joint team of the Uttar Pradesh (UP) Police and the Delhi Police on Monday rescued 18 women, allegedly trafficked, from a house in Maidan Garhi near Mehrauli, the police said. The incident comes a week after 16 Nepalese women were rescued by the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) and the local police from a house in south Delhi’s Munirka.

Police officials said 16 out of the 18 women rescued on Tuesday were Nepalese, while the other two are from Darjeeling in West Bengal. All of them are between the age group of 20 and 43 years and were lured to Delhi by alleged traffickers who had promised them jobs in foreign countries. The DCW also joined Tuesday’s rescue operation.

Three persons were arrested in connection with the human trafficking case that was registered in Varanasi on July 23 and was being probed by the Varanasi crime branch. A total of 68 passports, including 61 of Nepal, were recovered.

Deputy commissioner of police (south) Romil Baaniya said the joint operation started around 5pm and continued till late Monday night. “The medical examination of the rescued women was completed by 5am on Tuesday. Their statements were recorded by noon and they were shifted to a shelter home,” said Baaniya.

Superintendent of police (Varanasi crime branch) Gyanendra Nath Prasad said the rescued women had been confined to the house for the last few days.

According to the police, the 18 Nepalese women were reportedly first lured into accompanying the alleged traffickers to Varanasi and were to be allegedly trafficked into Gulf countries for “flesh trade”. “Two of them managed to flee in the first week of July. They told Nepal police about the racket, who in turn contacted the Nepal embassy,” said Varanasi crime branch officer.

Based on the Nepal embassy’s communique, Varanasi police raided half-a-dozen locations last week. They arrested a man identified as Jai Singh. His interrogation revealed that the remaining Nepalese women were moved to Delhi. The investigating team contacted their counterparts in Delhi and rescued 18 women from a building in Maidan Garhi.