KATHMANDU, July 31: After strict monitoring at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), human traffickers have reportedly started using Bagdogra Airport in West Bengal, India, and Changi Airport in Singapore to send Nepali women abroad on visit visas. A manpower agent said that as it has become difficult to send women to the Gulf countries from Nepali airports on visit visas, traffickers are now sending them through Siliguri to Bagdogra and Singapore Changi Airport.
“It’s become very difficult at Nepali airports, so we send them through whichever route is easier. Sometimes it’s Delhi Airport, and other times it’s Bagdogra,” the agent said. According to him, lately, traffickers have started using Singapore’s Changi Airport for those willing to pay more.
On Wednesday evening, 47 Nepali women were rescued from Delhi Airport. They were supposed to fly from Bagdogra, but their tickets were for Delhi. No Objection Certificates (NOC) meant for Kolkata Airport were found with them. “Among the women rescued from Delhi, some had NOCs for Kolkata Airport. Some had torn and destroyed them,” said the Human Trafficking Control Bureau. The bureau has taken complaints from the victims and started an investigation. According to the Kathmandu District Court, 19 of the 47 women have filed complaints.
After the complaints, police began searching for suspects. Nepal Police and the Nepali Embassy in Delhi worked together to rescue the women who were being sent to the Gulf on visit visas.
After complaints of visit visa misuse increased, the Ministry of Home Affairs had taken steps to improve the immigration office at Tribhuvan International Airport. Once monitoring tightened there, traffickers started using alternative routes. “Traffickers in Dubai and Delhi are found to be misusing visit visas and choosing flight routes accordingly,” said an investigator at the Human Trafficking Control Bureau.
He said officials are still taking statements from the rescued women in Delhi. Bureau chief SSP Krishna Pangeni said that investigation is ongoing based on the information provided by the women. “The investigation is underway, and we cannot disclose more details at this point,” SSP Pangeni said.
Based on the information given by the rescued women, some members of the trafficking network have already been identified. Since specific complaints were filed, some individuals are believed to be in India, and efforts are ongoing to identify them through the Indian police. “There are agents in Dubai and India. Work is being done to identify them,” said a source, “Their appearances are known, but their exact whereabouts are still unknown.”
As the trend of taking large sums of money to send people to the Gulf via visit visas and then abandoning them grows, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has occasionally raided offices and investigated employees. Many people, in hopes of jobs or better lives, travel on visit visas, which are then misused to force them into illegal labor or human trafficking. This has drawn widespread criticism.
In the case of collecting money from those traveling on visit visas through TIA, 15 immigration officers were recently transferred. The Ministry of Home Affairs has deployed new staff. Narahari Ghimire has been appointed as the new head of the immigration office at the airport.
Ghimire previously served as CIAA spokesperson. Former chief immigration officer Tirtharaj Bhattarai was arrested and interrogated in the visit visa case and is currently under investigation while on bail. Previous immigration staff are also under scrutiny. The Ministry of Home Affairs has now deployed Ram Chandra Tiwari to the Immigration Department.
During the investigation of devices seized from Bhattarai, eight immigration staff were initially transferred on suspicion of involvement in organized trafficking. After allegations of arranging visit visa “setups,” further strict measures have been imposed at the immigration office.
Now, immigration staff will only be informed of their assigned duty location 15 minutes before their shift begins. According to CIAA sources, Bhattarai was taken into custody based on complaints that traffickers were collecting Rs 20,000 to Rs 40,000 per person and sending them to countries like Dubai.
CIAA is currently investigating the immigration office, labor department, travel agencies, consultancies, hotels, airlines, and manpower companies. Though visit visas are meant for tourism, family visits, or short business trips, their misuse has triggered strong opposition in parliament and among the public.
The Department of Immigration has established an alternative data center at the airport starting July 17 to prevent suspicious activities under the pretext of “server down.” This ensures that airport services remain unaffected even if there are problems at the Government Integrated Data Center (GIDC). Due to stricter controls, travel agencies are no longer able to send Nepalis abroad by arranging backdoor “settings.”
