Pratap Bista

A man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for selling his pregnant wife to a brothel in India. The District Court, Makwanpur, on Tuesday slapped Sitaram Thing along with two others a 20-year jail term and a fine of Rs 200,000 after he was convicted of human trafficking.

A single bench of Judge Tek Narayan Kunwar issued the verdict against 38-year-old Thing and his two accomplices, Shyam Bahadur Bamjan and Shashi Kumar Titung of Padampokhari-1. Saying that the defendants are from poor economic background, the court gave its ruling that the government should manage half of the fine amount (Rs 100,000) through the rehabilitation fund and provide it to the victim.

Thing, a permanent resident of Manahari-3 in the district, took his wife to Mumbai and sold her in a brothel for Rs 50,000 in 1989. The victim, then 16, was five-month pregnant when she was sold to the brothel. There she gave birth to a baby boy who now stays in Nuwakot. The victim was driven out of the brothel after she was infected with HIV/AIDS. With the help of some rights organisations she returned to Nepal six months ago and lodged a complaint against Thing at the police.

Sitaram Thing of Makwanpur had taken his wife to Mumbai and sold her in a brothel for Rs 50,000 in 1989. She returned home 6 months ago.

Published on: 10 October 2012 | The Kathmandu Post