Kathmandu: Nepal police rescued 11 Indian nationals from the captivity of a human trafficking gang in a rented house in Kathmandu on late Wednesday, according to police sources. The Indian nationals were held captive and were to be sent to the United States, police sources informed on Thursday.
The rescue effort was named ‘Operation Dunki’ as the case turned out to be similar to the situation shown in popular Indian actor Shah Rukh Khan’s 2023 movie Dunki. The rescued persons and mafia members came mostly from the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana. Eight persons involved in the trafficking attempt were arrested by the police
The Kathmandu District Police Range team carried out the operation starting Wednesday night and the raid continued till Thursday. Acting on a tip-off, raided a private residence belonging to a Nepali national at Dhobikhola Corridor, Ratopul, and rescued the 11 Indian nationals, who were taken hostage in the pretext of sending them to the US via Mexico.
Kept in captivity for a month
"They were kept in captivity for one month in the Ratopul area. Acting on the special information received, police were able to rescue the Indian nationals while seven others involved in the possible trafficking attempt also has been apprehended," a police official said on the condition of anonymity.
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 the USA, and an additional $3,000 was charged as a visa fee upon their arrival here in Kathmandu, said District Police chief Bhupendra Bahadur Khatri at a press meet.
Cases would be booked against each of the accused under sections related to abduction, taking hostage, and human trafficking as per the Nepalese law, he said, adding, that a Nepali accomplice, who helped them in providing logistic services, was also arrested.
Rescued Indians to be sent back to India
When the hostages stayed at the rented house for more than two weeks, they were mentally and physically tortured, threatened, and locked in the rooms, he said. “Some of us were told, on a knife-point, to contact our family in India to assure them that we were safe and on the way to USA,” one of the rescued persons told news agency PTI.
The freed Indians are staying at a hotel in Kathmandu as per the arrangements made by Nepal Police and they will be sent back to India coordinating with the Indian Embassy, Foreign Ministry, and other officials concerned. All the documents, including visa and boarding passes, were forged while the police have recovered the passports of the victims along with fake rubber stamps and other forged documents from the site, Khatri said.
"Nepal has been used as transit to send the rescued Indian nationals to the United States. Further investigation is underway. All of the rescued are male," said an official earlier.
(with inputs from agencies)
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