Police Launch Investigation into Incident, Detain Nine Suspects
May 29, Butwal – Police have commenced an investigation after rescuing 453 Nepali nationals from Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh, India, and bringing them to Rupandehi district. The rescue operation was carried out in coordination with the Nepali Embassy in India and Indian police authorities. The individuals were rescued from a networking business office in Kushinagar on Friday and brought to the District Police Office in Rupandehi via the Belahia border on Saturday.
The police are currently in the process of identifying how many among the rescued are victims and how many are perpetrators. Among the rescued individuals, approximately 100 are women. Rupandehi Police Chief, Superintendent Janak Bahadur Shahi, stated that nine suspects have been detained for further investigation.
Investigation has revealed that youth from Lumbini, Koshi, and Sudurpaschim provinces had been lured with job promises, paying between NPR 2,500 and NPR 5,000 to fill out forms, with additional charges demanded under the pretext of training. While some were given low-paid jobs, the majority were reportedly held captive under false employment promises. According to police reports filed by victim families at the Butwal Police Station, the victims were allegedly kept hostage in Kushinagar and even extorted for ransom. After over six months of investigation and coordination with Uttar Pradesh and Kushinagar police, in collaboration with Lumbini Province Police, the rescue was successfully carried out, said Superintendent Shahi.
The embassy’s representatives accompanied the rescued individuals to Rupandehi. Ambica Joshi, Minister Consular at the Nepali Embassy, explained that the rescue followed extensive investigation prompted by complaints from victims related to the networking business. Police confirmed that both operators of the networking business and the victims are Nepali nationals. SP Shahi further revealed that representatives of the organization named Naveen Joshi of India had compelled 15 to 16 individuals to sleep in a single room without proper relief during hot weather. “Initially, many youths from different districts of Nepal were lured with promises of high earnings and brought to Kushinagar New,” he said. “It was found that they were subjected to training and pressured to bring their relatives as well.”
The investigation also uncovered that the group enticed individuals from Nepal with attractive job offers and transported them to Kushinagar via Sunauli border. Preliminary inquiries indicate that the network business charged between INR 7,000 to INR 100,000 per person for membership expansion. Police have launched inquiries based on similar complaints, according to Deputy Superintendent Nishant Srivastava of Butwal Police Station. Following continuous efforts over four days, the rescue was successful with the assistance of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and local Indian police authorities. Investigation also revealed that while one group provided training to the youth lured by job offers, another group collected membership fees to expand the network.