Nepal Police rescues 11 Indian hostages, busts smuggling racket

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Nepal Police on Thursday busted a human trafficking racket and rescued eleven Indian nationals, mainly students, who were held hostage for more than two weeks. The operation, dubbed ‘Operation Dinky’ by Nepal Police, targeted a smuggling network that lured victims with promises of facilitating travel to the United States. During the operation, eight Indian mafia members were arrested along with their Nepalese associates.

News agency PTI quoted police sources as saying that the hostages, hailing from the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana, were held captive in a rented house on the outskirts of Kathmandu for a long time.

According to reports, the Kathmandu District Police Range launched the operation by raiding a private residence in Dhobikhola Corridor, Ratopul on Wednesday night following a tip-off. Eleven Indian nationals were rescued from captivity, where they were given false promises of sending them to the US via Mexico.

According to PTI, the smugglers, who also included members of the Indian mafia, extorted Rs 45 lakh from each victim on the pretext of facilitating their travel to the United States. Additionally, an additional US$3,000 was charged as visa fee upon arrival in Kathmandu, revealed district police chief Senior Superintendent of Police Bhupendra Bahadur Khatri during a press conference.

Khatri said each accused person would face charges of kidnapping, hostage-taking and human trafficking under Nepali law. Additionally, according to the report, a Nepali associate who assisted with logistics was also captured.

According to PTI, the freed Indian nationals are currently being accommodated in a hotel in Kathmandu, with Nepal Police coordinating their return to India in collaboration with the Indian Embassy, ​​Ministry of External Affairs and concerned authorities, Khatri confirmed.

During their captivity of more than two weeks, the hostages suffered mental and physical torture, threats, and confinement in closed cells.

“At knifepoint, some of us were asked to contact our families in India to assure them that we were safe and going to the US,” one of the rescued people was quoted as saying by PTI.

Investigation revealed that all the documents including visa and boarding pass were fake. According to PTI report, police recovered fake rubber stamps and other forged documents along with the passports of the victims from the site.