Lal Prasad Sharma

A Nepali woman identified as Lalu Bishwokarma, 31, from Phirphire of Tanahun has been reportedly held hostage in Saudi Arabia by her employer for the past four months.

The man who is keeping my daughter has demanded 6,000 Saudi Riyal for her release, said Bishwokarma’s mother Yam Kumari, who came to Pokhara to appeal to the media persons and other concerned to help rescue her daughter.

According to Yam Kumari, her daughter’s employer had sent her a text message asking her to deposit 6,000 Saudi Riyal on his account (IBAN SA 7050000000 010244274274) at Saudi Hollandi Bank. “He had initially asked for 10,000 Saudi Riyal and later agreed to free my daughter if I paid him 6,000 Saudi Riyal,” Yam Kumari said. “We are ready to pay the money but we need to be sure that my daughter is released safely.”

When a journalist contacted Bishwokarma on Monday, she told over phone that she was being tortured by her employer and pleaded for her immediate rescue.

Bishwokarma had gone to Saudi Capital via New Delhi to work there as a nanny. She was taken there by a man named Baburam BK, who, according to Yam Kumari, has gone out of contact. “Whenever she called me from Saudi, she used to tell me about her hardship and how she wished to return home,” Yam Kumari said. “She even tried to run away from her employer, but she was caught and kept in confinement in the house.” She said one of her sons and son-in-law along with some people from her village are also in Saudi Arabia, but they have been unable to free her daughter. 

Bishwokarma’s relative, Til Bahadur BK, said they were preparing to inform the Foreign Ministry about the case.

Published on: 27 December 2011 | The Kathmandu Post