Nearly 30 Nepalese men rescued from forced labor in India: Nepal government

The Nepalese government has rescued 28 of its citizens from forced labour in India, said the country's Ministry for Women, Children and Senior Citizens.

A team fromthe Nepal ministry withthe help of the Indian non-government organisation 'Keen India' on Friday (July 26) rescued the men.

The group of men aged between 24 years to 60 years wererescued from India’s Jammu and Kashmir, where they were forced to work in unsafe conditions,the ministry said in a statement.

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Lured by promises of high-paying road construction jobs, seven men from Dhanusha and 21 from Siraha were taken to Kashmir five months ago, reported news agency PTI.

A social worker from Sarlahi, Saroj Ray, uncovered the incident after two Nepali workershad managed to escape from the workplace and sought her help.

TheNepali Embassy in New Delhi and the ‘Keen India’ organisation were immediately informed about what was happening, the Kathmandu Post newspaper quoted Ray as saying.

The agents gave Rs 7,000 ($83.59) as advance payment to the Nepali workers to win their trust, said‘Keen India’ President Nabin Joshi.

Senior Superintendent of Police Uma Prasad Chaturvedi stated that they are collaborating with Kashmir police to apprehend and prosecute the suspects involved in the case.

“With the help of the local police we were able to identify the place where the victims were held captive and rescued them," Chaturvedi said.

“The support of Keen India organization and social worker Saroj Ray was quite significant in order to accomplish the mission," she added.

The 28 men,after being rescued, are nowbeingtaken to the Dhanusha district in coordination with the Nepalese Embassy in Delhi. On Friday the men were handed over to the District Human Trafficking Control Committee, said the statement by the ministry.

However, the identities of the men have been kept secret as per legal provisions.

According to the ministry, the workers have reestablished contact with their families back home in Nepal.

(With inputs from agencies)