Two Nepali workers held hostage by their employers in Japan for around one and a half months have been rescued by local police Tuesday. Hira Thapa and his wife Tara of Galkot, Baglung who were held hostage by the owners of a Taiwanese restaurant in Nagoya, Japan, were rescued by Japanese police after complaint by fellow Nepalis, according to member of the NRN (Non-resident Nepali) Association, Tokyo Yam Lal Kandel.

"We searched for the duo after the couple didn´t come in contact with us for one and a half months. After our search we found that they were held hostage by the employers," Kandel said.

Vice-president of NRN Association, Japan, Dila Ram Kharel, Secretary Saroj Kandel and others had lodged a complaint with Japanese police about the missing Nepali couple. The owners of the Taiwanese restaurant had held the duo hostage following dispute about salary. The Thapas said upon their release that they were not even given food during the period. "We found that the employers detained them in an inhumane manner. We have also lodged a complaint with the Nepali Embassy in Japan for action against the cruel employers," Yam Lal Kandel stated.

The couple, who had been in Japan for the past two years, said the employers held them hostage after asking for unpaid salaries of many months. "They must have been held hostage with an intention of deporting them to Nepal with the help of police as their visas were expiring in the first week of September," Kandel explained.

Uma Thapa of Righa-7 in Baglung had also been abducted in Japan last month. Thapa, who was staying with her spouse, was abducted from their apartment. Police had rescued her from a Peruvian abductor.

Relatives back home have started to worry after rise in the incidents of abduction and forced detention of Nepalis in Japan. "We had sent our son to Japan thinking that he will be secure in a developed country. But these sad incidents have got us worried," Man Bahadur Chhetri of Harichour said.

Published on: 2 September 2011 | Republica