Dozens of Nepalese youths, including minors, freed from months-long confinement in Uttarakhand; over a thousand more feared trapped in job scam networks
In a disturbing revelation, nearly 60 Nepalese men and boys, including 12 minors, have been rescued from forced captivity across Uttarakhand’s Kashipur and Rudrapur towns, after being trafficked into India by fraudulent job networks. The rescues were led by Uttarakhand Police, in coordination with the Nepal embassy and Delhi-based NGO KIN India, which works on anti-trafficking effort, reported timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
Nepal’s Ambassador to India, Dr. Shankar P Sharma, confirmed that an advisory has been issued urging Nepalese citizens to exercise caution before accepting job offers in India. “We have received full cooperation from Indian authorities in the rescue of our citizens,” he said, amid growing concerns about the scale of the racket spreading across Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.
The youths had been lured by fake job offers—mostly for roles such as accountants or packaging agents—and were then beaten, confined, and forced to recruit more victims by handing over contacts of friends and relatives. They were given only rice with turmeric water and slept on the floor. Many, like 18-year-old Anuj Kotwal from Sunsari, paid a Rs 15,000 processing fee, only to be trapped.
On June 20, police entered a house in Kashipur and found 35 young men sitting silently in a dark, shuttered room. “You are safe now,” a plainclothes officer told one in Nepali. He began to cry. Soon, others followed
A few days later, another 22 individuals were rescued in Rudrapur, nine of them underage. In total, 57 Nepalese nationals have been freed in recent days. Police arrested three suspects—Birendra Shahi, Sachin Kumar, and Manish Tiwari—and more arrests are expected.
“This wasn’t just trafficking. It was systematic, coercive recruitment, mirroring cyberfraud rackets in Southeast Asia,” said Naveen Joshi from KIN India. “It’s industrialised fraud,” he warned.
According to Rajesh, 19, from Dharan, “They made me lie to my friends and lure them in. I thought I’d never go home. I was locked for seven months.”
The Nepalese government is now working with Indian authorities to ensure safe repatriation through the Gaddachauki border, and to identify more victims. Independent studies and UNODC reports estimate that between 100,000 to 200,000 Nepalese have been trafficked into India over the past decade, often under the pretense of employment.
US Nagar SSP Manikant Mishra, who led the operation, confirmed that cases have been registered under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including wrongful confinement, kidnapping, organised crime, and criminal conspiracy.
Authorities believe hundreds, possibly thousands more, may still be trapped across the region.
