Indira Gandhi International Airport here has emerged as transit point for trafficking of Nepalese girls to Dubai for alleged prostitution, a CBI enquiry has said prompting the agency to alert the External Affairs Ministry and the Home Ministry in this regard. CBI sources said the enquiry, which is continuing, has so far showed that nearly 6,000-8,000 Nepalese girls aged between 20-30 years could have been sent to Dubai for prostitution under the garb of travelling to Nairobi, Kenya for tourist purposes.
They said during the inquiry by the agency, probe officers collected information from Foreign Regional Registration Office, Air India, Qatar Airways, Bureau of Immigration and 15 travel agents based here. Giving details of modus operandi of the alleged trafficking, a senior agency official said the girls were provided with tickets, visa and hotel reservation in Nairobi via Dubai for tourist purposes but when they landed in Dubai, their tickets for Nairobi and hotel bookings were cancelled.
The girls also carried with them ‘paper visa’ to work in Dubai which they kept hidden with them. Once the tickets were cancelled in Dubai, they went to their agents there, stayed for two-three months and then came back, the official claimed. When asked about Nairobi connection when they could easily go to Dubai and come back as they have valid documents, the official said there could be many reasons--the Nepalese officials seek details of employer and nature of work. Prostitution is never encouraged and girls going to Dubai for work is considered a social stigma among others, he said.
The sources said after getting a tip-off, the agency hadcarried out a surprise check which revealed that 76 girls were travelling to Nairobi via Dubai on an Air India flight in July after which records of such travels were checked. “We could not take any action as all the documents were found proper,” an official said.
The official said that agency has written to MEA, MHA and other authorities concerned to look into the issue and plug the loopholes in the immigration system which is exploited by the agents to supply girls to Gulf countries.