Mahesh Acharya

Dozens of Nepali youths have been duped out of millions of rupees by overseas employment agents in Mumbai under the pretext of providing attractive jobs in Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Although local police have started investigations, the accused, one Alex Peter who claims to be a US citizen and his Indian accomplice Kaushik Doshi are still at large. The duo were running a manpower agency under the name of Solar Enterprises at Powai in Mumbai, which has now been sealed by police following complaints from Nepali youths. The Nepalis realised they had been swindled when Peter brought them to the Mumbai airport and fled the scene under a pretext of bringing their passports on October 17. They then registered a complaint with the Powai Police Station on October 19.

The youth told the Post that they came in contact with Solar Enterprises via a Nepali manpower agency, World Immigration, situated in Golfutar, Kathmandu. “World Immigration’s proprietor Gunaraj Lama alias ‘Sahil’ and agents Kamal Chaudhary and BB Rana were also involved in duping us,” claimed one of the victims, Saroj Khand from Kathmandu, who is now in Mumbai following the police investigation. However, this claim has yet to be independently confirmed. The Post’s attempts to reach World Immigration for comment were unsuccessful.

According to Khand, Solar Enterprises collected Rs 10 to 24 lakhs per person from 60 Nepali youths. However, only 13 have come in contact with police, Assistant Police Inspector Sanjay Pradhan told the Post over the phone from Mumbai. Among the 13, some have already left Mumbai due to daily difficulties while a few others have been living with generous support from the Nepali Workers’ Union, India. “We are going through a harsh situation. We are stuck in Mumbai as we don’t even have money to return to Nepal,” said Kishan Thapa, a victim from Narayangarh.

Published on: 22 October 2012 | The Kathmandu Post