16 women trafficked from Nepal rescued in Delhi

Sixteen women allegedly trafficked from Nepal to be sent to the Gulf countries were rescued today by Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) members and police personnel from southwest Delhi's Munirka area, officials said.

Police were informed about the women by the DCW at around 9 pm yesterday, they said.

Subsequently, a raid was conducted at around 1.30 am today, during which 16 women were rescued.

Among them, 14 are married, police said, adding that they are aged between 20 and 40.

The DCW has alleged that the women were brought to Delhi on the pretext of employment and were kept in a small room for several days.

However, upon reaching Delhi, their passports were taken away by the traffickers.

"They were made to stay in the room for the past 20 to 22 days. The girls kept coming on different dates. They said in the last 15 days, seven girls have been sent to Iraq and Kuwait. One of the girls sent outside was pregnant," the DCW said in a statement.

The state women's panel alleged that the traffickers had been running the racket in Munirka for eight months and several women had already been sent aboard.

Police said the women were brought to Delhi by a Nepalese man who also stayed in Munirka and had allegedly kept the passports of these women with him.

A case has been registered in the matter, the police said, adding that a search was underway to nab him.

"The place from where we rescued these girls is only 500 metres from a police station. I can not understand how police knew nothing about the trafficking activities while they are so close to the place but the DCW got information about it," DCW Chief Swati Maliwal said.

"I have requested Home Minister Rajnath Singh many times, and I am requesting him again to set up a high level committee in Delhi for women. The committee must meet at least twice a month. A big trafficking racket is working in Delhi and all people involved in it must be arrested so that big names in this racket can be identified and brought to books," she said in the statement.