The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) on Wednesday rescued 16 Nepali girls from Munirka, Delhi. The girls were allegedly brought to the national Capital and were to be trafficked to Kuwait and Iraq. DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal said the girls were kept in a small room in Munirka.
On Tuesday 7 pm, the commission received a tip-off from KI Nepal, a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) that works against human trafficking in Nepal.
The DCW team reached the spot by 8 pm and along with the Delhi Police, the room where girls were confined was inspected and the girls were rescued. No trafficker was found in the room and the Delhi Police didn't secure the house. The house owner who lived on the floor above claimed that they didn't know that 16 girls were locked in the house, Maliwal said.
She said the girls aged between 19-23 were counselled, and they disclosed that the girls were brought to Delhi on pretext of a job. The girls also revealed that they came on different days and were made to stay in the room for 20-22 days. In the last 15 days 7 girls were allegedly trafficked, five to Kuwait and two to Iraq. One of the girl’s sent abroad was allegedly pregnant.
The traffickers took the passport of the girls to make sure they would not escape. Nepal citizens also require a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to go abroad which was faked by the traffickers, Maliwal claimed.
The girls all belong from Sindhupalchok district of Nepal which was badly hit by the 2015 earthquake and were in desperate need of jobs. One of the girls had lost her parents in the disaster and the others were also in similar situations.
Subsequently, an FIR was registered in Vasant Vihar police station and the girls were taken to a shelter in Central Delhi, the DCW chief said. Maliwal also met Bharat Kumar Regmi, acting Nepalese Ambassador who assured to help with the rehabilitation of the 16 girls.
"He affirmed prompt action from Nepal." DCW chief tweeted. "I have requested Rajnath Singh many times, and I am requesting him again to set up a high-level panel in Delhi for women to meet at least twice a month. Trafficking racket is working in Delhi and all people involved in it must be arrested so that big names in this racket can be identified and brought to books," she said in the statement