598 people at risk of trafficking rescued from Nepalgunj transit point in 2024

BANKE: The Maiti Nepal’s Nepalgunj office said it rescued 598 women and girls at risk of trafficking from the Nepalgunj border checkpoint.
Keshav Koirala, Maiti Nepal, Nepalgunj coordinator shared this information in an interaction with journalists against human trafficking organized by the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) Banke Chapter here on Tuesday.

He said these girls and women were in risky travel to various countries, including India, in 2024.

According to Koirala, such number of girls and women were turned back after it was found while interrogating them out of suspicion that they were at risk of being trafficked in the pretext of finding work, marriage, visiting places and relatives, shopping, among other purposes. Koirala said Maiti Nepal’s Nepalgunj Office received applications for finding out whereabouts of 177 people in one year and 407 of them were found.

The family members of the missing people register application at the Office seeking its support in finding out their status after those who have reached India or third country go out of contact.

Coordinator Koirala said the highest number of applications were received from Banke district in 2024. Most of the rescued women and girls are from Surkhet, Bardiya, Dang, Jajarkot, and Dailekh among the districts of Lumbini and Karnali provinces, he added.

Stating that agents are active in women trafficking through the misuse of social sites, Koirala said that Maiti Nepal has been carrying out anti-trafficking activities coordinating with all the three tiers of the government.