While visiting Gaighat Bazaar in Udayapur district of eastern Nepal, Elisa (name changed) went to a restaurant for a snack. The restaurant owner, whom she knew from her village, greeted her warmly. Anil Sewa, the owner of Brothers Restaurant, asked for her mobile number and Facebook ID.
“I gave him my number and Facebook ID and went home,” says Elisa. “A few days later, he messaged me and said, ‘When you come to the market, come to my restaurant for a snack. I have a secret to tell you’.”
Elisa cannot remember the exact date but recalls it was around June/July when she visited Brothers Restaurant for work. She says, “When I met him and asked, ‘What’s the secret, Dada (elder brother)?’ he replied, ‘Sometimes interesting customers come to my restaurant. If you have fun with them, you can enjoy good food and earn money too’.”
She also asked the hotel owner what kind of work it was. The owner said it wasn’t difficult work. It was about ‘eating, drinking, and having fun. “It sounded easy, and I needed money. So, I was tempted and agreed to it.”
The next day around 11 am, Sewa called Elisa and asked her to come. “When I went there, he made me sit in a room with an unknown man, probably around 50 years old,” Elisa says. “The man ordered beer, cigarettes and snacks, and offered me some too.”
Having seen her parents fight daily due to alcoholism, Elisa had become addicted to drugs at the age of eight due to peer pressure. Therefore, she didn’t refuse the beer and cigarettes. She says that while they were eating, the man made a sexual advance, which she rejected. But the man didn’t stop. “I told him I had never done such a thing before, but he didn’t listen and started forcing himself on me, saying that he had paid the hotel owner for this,” she said tearfully. “I was scared. The man was much older than me and I resisted but in vain.”
Elisa fainted. She says that when she regained consciousness, she was naked, and the man was sleeping naked on the bed. She got dressed and went downstairs to meet the hotel owner and told him about the abuse. But the hotel owner gave her 1,000 rupees, saying it was her ‘earning’ for the day.
Elisa was furious. “I was so angry. How could someone I knew do this to me?” she says. “I was also scared that someone else might find out what happened with me.”
Hotel owner Sewa had used Facebook Messenger to lure Elisa, trafficked her, forced her into prostitution, and she had been raped. But out of fear, she did not report the crime.
The hotel owner had lured Elisa with promises, knowing full well about her weak family and financial situation. “He told me, ‘You won’t find such work anywhere else. Look, you earned a thousand rupees in less than two hours. If a better customer comes, you’ll earn even more. Then, you can buy whatever you want with that money’, he tempted me,” she recalls. “I didn’t say anything. He said, ‘I’ll call you when a good customer comes’, and I went home without saying anything.”
Some hotels and restaurants in urban areas are found to have forced minors like Elisa into sex work under the guise of entertaining customers. According to the police, most of these girls are between ages 13-19. In her statement to the police, Elisa revealed that the hotel owner, Sewa, had also made other women engage with customers. However, in the court statement, Sewa said that he had never had any physical relationship with her and had never made such a proposal.
Elisa was told by the hotel owner in Gaighat that the more people she had physical relations with, the more money she would get. She was paid accordingly. “I used to get 1,000 rupees for having physical relations with one person and 3,000 rupees if I had such relations with two persons,” says Elisa. “Since I could earn more by doing it with more people, I would sleep with two or three people a day.”
She admits that due to her financial need, she was willing to have physical relations with anyone. She says that she would get extra money if she could make the customer happy.
In his statement to the police, restaurant owner Sewa admitted that he would call Elisa when customers wanted to have fun and engage in physical contact. He said that he would take 2,000 rupees from the customer and keep half of it for himself, giving the other half to Elisa.
Cases like Elisa’s have been increasing. Maiti Nepal, an organization working against human trafficking, has rescued 6,434 girls and women in the last 10 years alone. According to Maiti Nepal’s statistics, the number of rescues of those trafficked has been increasing every year.
Last year alone, 101 people were rescued from abroad and 2,287 from within the country, totaling 2,388. Similarly, in 2022, 117 people were rescued from abroad and 2,180 from within the country, totaling 2,297.
| Year | Number of people rescued |
| 2023 | 2388 |
| 2022 | 2297 |
| 2021 | 142 |
| 2020 | 94 |
| 2019 | 322 |
| 2018 | 250 |
| 2017 | 273 |
| 2016 | 239 |
| 2015 | 144 |
| 2014 | 183 |
| 2013 | 142 |
SP Gautam Mishra, the then Information Officer of Nepal Police’s Human Trafficking Investigation Bureau, says that girls from poor families and broken homes are often lured into prostitution with promises of work. Mishra said that the operators themselves trap these girls in massage centers, spas, parlors and restaurants, promising them good jobs.
He said that social media has made it easier for girls to be trafficked. Mishra says that girls are lured and sexually exploited through TikTok, Facebook and Viber, and through online advertisements promising employment.
According to him, children and adolescents are forced into the sex trade through fear and intimidation, and are used to perform obscene acts on video for customers through various apps like strip chat, free live sex cam, and adult chat.
Mishra said that groups are created on Facebook, WhatsApp, and other platforms, and girls are sent to the places specified by the customers who pay.
Lured with the promise of work and raped
Apsara (name changed), a 17-year-old girl from near Butwal, received a mobile number from an unknown person on TikTok. The person who sent the number from a TikTok account named Kelvin James was Resham Gurung from Gorkha, who lived in Tokha, Kathmandu.
After asking why he sent the number, Resham replied, “If you need a job, contact me.” Apsara still remembers saying, “I will not work right now.” Resham assured her that the massage parlor job paid 10,000 rupees per month with a promise of a future raise.
Resham also asked for Apsara’s Facebook ID, and they started chatting daily. One day, Resham said, “If you don’t want a parlor job, it’s okay. I need someone to work at my house. You’re like my sister, and I’ll take good care of you. Don’t be afraid to come to Kathmandu.”
When she said she didn’t have the money to come to Kathmandu, Resham sent her 8,000 rupees as travel expenses. On her first day in Kathmandu, she was raped.
“On the very day I got off the bus, he took me home. While changing my clothes after eating, he knocked on the door,” she says. “When I opened the door, he forced himself on me, saying he would sleep with me. When I resisted, he made a video and threatened to post it online.”
Frightened by threat, Apsara was forced to comply with Resham. In her statement to the police, she said that after the rape, Resham brought a contraceptive from a nearby medical store and forced her to take it, scolding her when she refused.
Resham’s flat was home to his paralyzed mother and postpartum wife. Apsara stayed there for a month, taking care of them, and during this time, she was raped three times, as she revealed in her police statement.
After a month, Resham put her to work at his own Sunflower Wellness Spa in Gongabu. “Although it was called a massage parlor, I had to have sexual relations with the customers and engage in sexual activities to please them,” she says. She faced harassment and abuse at the spa.
According to the police, Resham initially confessed to the charges after his arrest. However, the charge sheet states that he later retracted his statement. Quoting him, the charge sheet states, “When the police interrogated me for the first time after my arrest, I said those things. I don’t remember now.”
Using the victim to find other girls
Resham used Apsara to bring other girls to Kathmandu. After working for a few months, Resham threatened her, saying, “Call another friend from your village, or I’ll make your video go viral.” Out of fear, she called her friend Ayusha (name changed) to Kathmandu.
“Out of fear, I called my 17-year-old classmate Ayusha, telling her there was a good job in Kathmandu,” said Apsara. Ayusha, who didn’t receive much love and affection from her father after her mother left and her father remarried, came to Kathmandu and faced the same fate as Apsara.
Resham knew Makhmali Maya Syangtan, the owner of A-One Spa in Thamel. While visiting Resham’s spa, she met Apsara and Ayusha. Afterward, they left Resham’s spa and started working at A-One.
Apsara said that Makhmali, like Resham, would take 1,000 rupees for each sexual encounter with a customer, keeping 500 for herself and giving 500 to them.
Both Apsara and Ayusha, while working at A-One, were rescued by a team deployed by the Human Trafficking Investigation Bureau on the evening of May 19, 2024. The police filed a case against Resham in the Kathmandu District Court for human trafficking and rape. Both Apsara and Ayusha are currently in a safe house. According to Mishra, the bureau’s information officer, although both girls’ families have been informed, they have not come to take them back, and the girls have also refused to go home.
Just as Resham had used Apsara to bring Ayusha, Sewa and Satish Kumar Yadav had used Elisa to bring another girl from Gaighat. On September 8, 2023, Yadav, who had been staying with Elisa at Sewa’s hotel, took her to Lahan, Siraha, the next day. When Elisa said she would only go to Lahan if Sewa went, Yadav gave her money for the bus fare and they went to Lahan on a scooter.
Sewa told the police in his statement that Yadav had agreed to pay for the hotel expenses in Lahan and had said he would arrange for a fee of 5,000 rupees for one night.
On the night of September 9, 2023, Yadav and Elisa were in one room and Sewa in another room at a hotel in Lahan. On the afternoon of September 10, 2023, when Yadav saw Elisa chatting with a friend on Facebook Messenger, he pressured her to call her friend. According to Sewa’s statement to the police, Yadav had told Elisa’s friend, “Come to Lahan, I’ll give you as much money as you want.”
However, when she said she didn’t have the bus fare, Yadav went to Gaighat on a motorcycle. While returning to Lahan with her, the police at the Jaljale checkpoint stopped their motorcycle and questioned them. When the girl said that she did not know Yadav and that her friend had told her she could earn some money by staying at a hotel for a while, Yadav was arrested. After Yadav’s arrest, the police arrested Sewa on September 13, 2023, and filed a human trafficking case against him in the Udayapur District Court.
Elisa’s friend’s father has filed another human trafficking case against Elisa, Yadav and Sewa. These cases are pending in court.
Trafficking to India
Girls are also being trafficked to India through online contacts. There has been an increase in gangs luring girls with promises of employment on social media and then trafficking them. Binod Pokharel, the program coordinator of Maiti Nepal, Biratnagar, said that rural girls are particularly vulnerable to such traps.
“They lure simple village girls with promises of attractive salaries and take them away. It has been found that they are forced into prostitution in India,” said Pokharel. “These trafficking gangs have been found to use social media, Viber and WhatsApp the most.”
Gitanjali Sharma of Maiti Nepal shared that in July/August alone, they rescued and brought back a 13-year-old girl who had been trafficked to India after getting acquainted with a person through Facebook.
Human trafficking and smuggling is a global and multifaceted problem. Like the illegal trade in weapons and drugs, human trafficking and smuggling has become a thriving business operated by international criminal organizations worldwide. Social analyst Bigyan Luintel states that this crime has become widespread because it is less risky and more profitable compared to other crimes.
Social media has further facilitated this. “The pursuit of urban lifestyles, including commercial sex work, cheap labor, and easy living, has become a pull factor for trafficking,” says Luintel. “Children in local environments are influenced by poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, lack of income-generating opportunities, and social insecurity.”
Mishra said that in the fiscal year 2022/23, the bureau raided hotels, restaurants, and massage parlors 18 times and rescued 61 girls who were forced into risky work. Of these, only 14 were taken by their families, and the rest are still in safe houses.
Mishra said that the bureau has been posting various messages on social media about how to protect oneself from human trafficking through social media. He suggests not chatting with strangers on social media, not being lured by anyone’s promises, not sharing personal information on social media, not trusting anyone easily, and consulting with family members if someone makes any proposal.
उदयपुरको गाईघाट बजार घुम्न गएको बेला खाजा खान छिरेकी एलिसा (परिवर्तित नाम) लाई होटलका सञ्चालकले पहिला नै चिनजान रहेको भन्दै सन्चोबिसन्चो सोध्छन् ।
गाउँकै सामान्य चिनजान रहेका ब्रोदर्स रेस्टुरेन्टका मालिक अनिल सेवाले उनीसँग मोबाइल नम्बर र फेसबुक आईडी माग्छन् । “उहाँलाई मेरो नम्बर र फेसबुक आईडी दिएर घर फर्किएँ,” एलिसा भन्छिन्, “केही दिनपछि उहाँले मलाई मेसेन्जरमा फोन गर्नुभयो र ‘बजार आएको बेला मेरो रेस्टुरेन्टतिर खाजा खान आउनु तिमीसँग एउटा गोप्य कुरा गर्नुछ’ भन्नुभयो ।”
एलिसाका अनुसार उनले मिति त सम्झिएकी छैनन् । तर असारतिर हुनुपर्छ उनी कामविशेषले गाईघाट गएको बेलामा ब्रदर्स रेस्टुरेन्टमा छिरिन् । उनी भन्छिन्, “उहाँलाई भेटेर ‘के गोप्य कुरा छ दादा ?’ भनेर सोध्दा उहाँले ‘मेरो रेस्टुरेन्टतिर कहिलेकाहीँ रमाइलो गर्ने ग्राहक आउँछन्, तिनीहरूसँग रमाइलो गरी बस्यौ भने मिठोमिठो खान पाउनुको साथै पैसा नि कमाइ हुन्छ’ भन्नुभयो ।”
उनले होटल सञ्चालकलाई कामचाहिँ के गुर्नपर्छ नि भनेर पनि सोधेकी थिइन् । सञ्चालकले गाह्रो काम होइन ‘खाने, पिउने रमाइलो गर्ने’ भने । “सुन्दा काम सजिलै लाग्यो, मलाई पैसाको नि जरुरत थियो र खान नि पाइन्छ भनेपछि म प्रलोभनमा परेँ र हुन्छ भनी सहमति जनाएर घर फर्केँ ।”
त्यसको भोलिपल्ट ११ बजेतिर होटल सञ्चालक सेवाले फोन गरेर बोलाएपछि एलिसा गइन् । “त्यहाँ जाँदा मैले नचिनेका अन्दाजी ५० वर्षका मानिससँग कोठामा बस्न लगाउनुभयो,” एलिसा भन्छिन्, “त्यस व्यक्तिले बियर, चुरोट र नास्ता मगाएर मलाई नि खान दिए र आफूले पनि खाए ।”
आमाबुबाले दैनिक रक्सी खाएर झगडा गर्ने गरेको देखेकी उनी ८ कक्षा पढ्दा नै साथीको संगतमा लागूऔषधको दुर्व्यसनमा फसेकी थिइन् । त्यसैले वियर र चुरोटमा नाइँनास्ती नगरेको बताउने उनका अनुसार खानपिन चलिरहेकै बेला तीे व्यक्तिले शारीरिक सम्पर्क गर्ने प्रस्ताव राखे, उनले अस्वीकार गरिन् । तर ती मान्छे रोकिएनन् ।
“मैले अहिलेसम्म यस्तो कार्य गरेको छैन भन्दाभन्दै नमान्दा पनि त्यस व्यक्तिले ‘मैले यसको लागि होटल मालिकलाई पैसा दिएको छु’ भन्दै जबरजस्ती गर्न थाल्यो,” उनले सुस्केरा हाल्दै भनिन्, “मलाई डर लागिरहेको थियो, त्यो मान्छे मभन्दा उमेरमा धेरै ठूलो थियो, मैले प्रतिकार गरिहेको थिएँ, तर मेरो प्रतिकार व्यर्थ रह्यो ।”
एलिसा बेहोस भएकी थिइन् । उनका अनुसार होसमा आउँदा उनको शरीरमा कुनै लुगा थिएन, ती व्यक्ति नग्न अवस्थामै बेडमा सुतिरहेका थिए । उनी लुगा लगाएर होटल मालिकलाई भेट्न तल झरिन् र आफूमाथि भएको अत्याचारको बारेमा बताइन् । तर होटल मालिकले ‘तिम्रो आजको कमाइ’ भनेर हातमा १ हजार रुपैयाँ थमाए ।
एलिसा रिसाइन् । “मलाई रिस उठिरहेको थियो, चिनेजानेको मानिसले मलाई यस्तो काम गर्न कसरी लगाउन सक्छ भनेर,” उनी भन्छिन्, “डर पनि लागेको थियो, कतै अरुले थाहा पाउछ कि भनेर ।”
होटल मालिक सेवाले फेसबुक म्यासेन्जरबाट बोलाएर एलिसाको बेचबिखन गरेका थिए, वेश्यावृत्ति गराएका थिए, त्यहाँ एलिसामाथि बलात्कार भएको थियो । तर डरले उनले आफूमाथि भएको अपराधका बारेमा कतै उजुरी गरिनन् ।
एलिसाको पारिवारिक अवस्था र आर्थिक अवस्था कमजोर रहेको बुझेरै होटल मालिकले लोभलालच देखाएका थिए । “उहाँले मलाई ‘तिमीले यस्तो काम अरु कहीँ पाउँदिनौ, हेर दुई घण्टा नबित्दै एक हजार कमायौ, अझै राम्रो ग्राहक आयो भने योभन्दा धेरै कमाउँछौ, त्यसछि त्यो पैसाले तिमीले मन लागेको कुरा लाउन खान खान पाउँछौ’ भन्दै मलाई प्रलोभन देखाउनुभयो,” उनी सम्झन्छिन्, “म केही नबोली बसेँ, उहाँले ‘म राम्रो ग्राहक आयो भने फोन गर्छु आउनू’ भनेपछि म केही नबोली घर फर्किएको थिएँ ।”
सहर बजारका केही होटल रेस्टुरेन्टमा ग्राहकलाई मनोरञ्जन दिने भन्दै एलिसाजस्ता नाबालिकाहरूलाई यौनकार्यमा लगाउने गरेको पाइन्छ । जसमा १३ वर्षदेखि १९ वर्षसम्मका किशोरी धेरै हुने गरेका प्रहरीको भनाइ छ । एलिसाले प्रहरीमा दिएको बयानअनुसार होटल सञ्चालक सेवाले अरु महिलालाई समेत ग्राहकसँग बस्न लगाउने गरेका थिए । सेवा स्वयंले भने आफूसँग कहिल्यै शारीरिक सम्बन्ध नराखेको र राख्ने प्रस्ताव पनि नगरेको उनले अदालतमा दिएको बयानमा स्पष्ट पारेकी छन् ।
एलिसालाई गाईघाटका होटल सञ्चालकले जति धेरै जनासँग शारीरिक सम्बन्ध बनायो धेरै त्यति पैसा हुन्छ भनेका थिए, त्यसअनुसार उनलाई पैसा पनि दिएका थिए । “एक जनासँग शारीरिक सम्बन्ध बनाउँदा १ हजार र दुई जनासँग बनाउँदा ३ हजार दिनुहुन्थ्यो,” एलिसा भन्छिन्, “धेरै जनासँग गर्दा धेरै पैसा हुने भएकोले म दिनमा दुई–तीन जनासँग नि सुत्थेँ ।”
पैसाको आवश्यकता भएकाले जति जनासँग पनि शारीरिक सम्बन्ध राख्न आफू तयार भएको उनी बताउँछिन् । ग्राहकलाई खुसी बनाएमा अझै अतिरिक्त पैसा आउने गरेको उनी बताउँछिन् ।
| वर्ष | उद्धार गरिएकाको सङ्ख्या |
| 2023 | 2388 |
| 2022 | 2297 |
| 2021 | 142 |
| 2020 | 94 |
| 2019 | 322 |
| 2018 | 250 |
| 2017 | 273 |
| 2016 | 239 |
| 2015 | 144 |
| 2014 | 183 |
| 2013 | 142 |
रेस्टुरेन्ट सञ्चालक सेवाले प्रहरीसँगको बयानमा ग्राहकले रमाइलो गर्न तथा शारीरिक सम्पर्क राख्न केटी खोजीमा एलिसालाई बोलाउने गरेको स्विकारेका छन् । उनले ग्राहसँगबाट २ हजार रुपैयाँ लिने गरेको त्यो पैसा आधा आफूले राखेर १ हजार रुपैयाँ उनलाई दिने गरेको बताए ।
गाउँघरका आर्थिक अवस्था कमजोर भएका, पारिवारिक विखण्डन भएका किशोरीलाई काम लगाइदिन्छु भनेर प्रलोभन देखाई वेश्यावृत्तिमा लगाउने गरेको नेपाल प्रहरीको मानव बेचबिखन अनुसन्धान ब्युरोको सूचना अधिकारी एसपी गौतम मिश्र बताउँछन् । मसाज सेन्टर, स्पा, पार्लर, रेस्टुरेन्टमा काम लगाइदिने भनेर सञ्चालकहरूले नै उनीहरूलाई फसाउने गरेका पाइएको मिश्रले बताए ।
उनका अनुसार सामाजिक सञ्जालको कारणले किशोरीहरू बेचबिखनमा सजिलैसँग फस्ने गरेका छन् । टिकटक, फेसबुक, भाइबरका माध्यमबाट सम्पर्क गरेर तथा अनलाइन माध्यममा विज्ञापन दिएर रोजगारीको प्रलोभन देखाएर किशोरीहरूलाई बोलाउने र यौनशोषण गर्ने गरेको मिश्र बताउँछन् ।
उनका अनुसार बालबालिका तथा किशोरीहरूलाई डर, धाकधम्की दिई जबरजस्ती यौनधन्दामा लाउने, इन्टरनेटको माध्यमबाट विभिन्न एपहरूजस्तै बाट स्ट्रिप च्याट, फ्री लाइभ सेक्स क्याम, एडल्ट च्याटलगायतमा बसाएर ग्राहकले भनेअनुसार भिडियोमा अश्लील हर्कत गर्न लाउने काममा प्रयोग गरिएको पाइन्छ ।
फेसबुक, ह्वाट्सएपलगायतमा ग्रुप बनाई सम्पर्कमा आएका ग्राहकहरूले पेमेन्ट गरेपछि उनीहरूले भनेको स्थानमा किशोरीहरू पठाउनेसमेत पाइएको मिश्र बताउँछन् ।
काम लगाइदिन्छु भन्दै बोलाएर बलात्कार
बुटवल नजिकैकी १७ वर्षीया अप्सरा (परिवर्तित नाम) को टिकटकमा अपरिचित व्यक्तिले मोबाइल नम्बर पठाउँछन् । केल्भिन जेम्स नाम गरेको टिकटकबाट नम्बर पठाउने गोरखा घर भई काठमाडौंको टोखा बस्ने रेशम गुरुङ हुन्छन् ।
किन नम्बर पठाएको भनेर सोधेपछि रेशमले ‘तपाईंलाई काम चाहिएको छ भने सम्पर्क गर्नु’ भनेको र आफूले ‘अहिले म काम गर्दिनँ’ भनेको अप्सारलाई अहिले पनि सम्झना छ । रेशमले मसाज पार्लरको काम मासिक १० हजार रुपैयाँ तलब हुने र पछि तलब बढाइदिने आश्वासन पनि दिन्छन् ।
रेशमले अप्सराको फेसबुक आईडी पनि माग्छन् र उनीहरूबीच दैनिकजसो च्याट हुन्छ । यसै क्रममा एक दिन रेशमले ‘तिमीलाई पार्लरको काम आउँदैन भने केही छैन, मेरो घरमा काम गर्ने मान्छे चाहिएको छ, तिमी मेरो बहिनीजस्तै मान्छे हो, राम्रोसँग काममा राख्ने छु डराउनु पर्दैन काठमाडौं आऊ’ भन्छन् ।
उनले काठमाडौं आउने पैसा छैन भन्दा रेशमले बाटोखर्च भन्दै मनी ट्रान्सफरबाट ८ हजार रुपैयाँ पठाइदिएका थिए । त्यही खर्चले काठमाडौं पुगेको पहिलो दिन नै उनी बलात्कारमा परिन् ।
“बसबाट ओर्लिएकै दिन उहाँले घर लैजानुभयो, खाना खाएर कोठामा लुगा चेन्ज गर्दैगर्दा उहाँले ढोका ढकढक्याउनुभयो,” उनी भन्छिन्, “मैले ढोका खोलेपछि ‘म नि यही सुत्छु भन्दै जबरजस्ती गर्नुभयो, मैले प्रतिकार गर्दा भिडियो बनाउनुभयो, यो कुरा कोही कसैलाई भनेमा नेटमा हाल्दिन्छु भनी डर देखाउनुभयो ।”
अप्सरा त्यही डरले कतै उजुरी नगरी रेशमले भनेको मान्न बाध्य हुन्छिन् । बलात्कारपछि रेशमले नजिकैको मेडिकलबाट गर्भ रोक्ने औषधि ल्याएर खान दिएको र आफूले इन्कार गर्दा गाली गरेको उनले प्रहरीसँगको बयानमा बताएकी छन् ।
रेशमको फ्ल्याटमा प्यारालाइसिस भएकी आमा, सुत्केरी श्रीमती पनि हुन्छन् । उनीहरूकै स्याहार गरेर एक महिना बसेकी अप्सारले त्यसबीचमा ३ पटक करणी गरेको प्रहरीसँगको बयानमा बताएकी छन् ।
एक महिनापछि रेशमले गोंगबुमा रहेको आफ्नै सनफ्लावर वेलनेस स्पामा उनलाई काम लगाउँछन् । “मसाज पार्लर भने पनि त्यहाँ आउने ग्राहकसँग शारीरिक सम्बन्ध राख्नुपर्ने, उनीहरूलाई खुसी बनाउन यौनजन्य गतिविधि गर्नुपर्थ्यो ,” उनी भन्छिन् । मसाज पार्लरमा धेरै नै दुर्व्यवहारको सामना गरेको उनी सुनाउँछिन् ।
प्रहरीका अनुसार रेशमले पक्राउ परेलगत्तै आरोप स्वीकार गरेका थिए । तर पछि उनले आफ्नो बयान फेरेको अभियोगपत्रमा उल्लेख छ । उनलाई उद्धृत गर्दै अभियोग पत्रमा लेखिएको छ, “म पक्राउ परी आएपश्चात् पहिलो पटक मलाई प्रहरीले सोधपुछ गर्ने क्रममा मैले उल्लेखित कुराहरू बोल्न पुगेछु, हाल मलाई याद छैन ।”
पीडितलाई नै प्रयोग गरिन्छ किशोरी खोज्न
अप्सरालाई प्रयोग गरेर रेशमले अरु किशोरीलाई समेत काठमाडौं बोलाएका थिए । केही महिना काम गरेपछि रेशमले ‘गाउँबाट अर्को साथीलाई बोला, नत्र तेरो भिडियो भाइरल गराइदिन्छु’ भनेर डर देखाएपछि गाउँकै साथी आयुशा (परिवर्तिन नाम) लाई काठमाडौं बोलाएको उनी बताउँछिन् ।
“डरका कारण सँगै पढेकी १७ वर्षकी आयुशालाई राम्रो काम छ भन्दै काठमाडौं बोलाएँ,” अप्सराले भनिन् । आमा अर्केसँग हिँडेपछि बुबाले पनि अर्की आमा ल्याएका कारण राम्रो मायाममता पाउन नसकेकी आयुशाले काठमाडौं आएर अप्सराकै नियति भोग्छिन् ।
ठमेलको ए वान स्पाकी सञ्चालिका मखमली माया स्याङ्तानसँग रेशमको चिनजान हुन्छ । उनी रेशमको पार्लरमा आउजाउ गर्ने क्रममा अप्सरा र आयुशाको चिनजान हुन्छ । त्यसपछि उनीहरू रेशमको स्पा छाडेर ए वानमा काम गर्न पुग्छन् ।
मखमलीले पनि रेशमको जस्तै ग्राहकसँग यौनसम्बन्ध बनाएबापत् १ हजार लिने र ५ सय आफूले राखेर ५ सय आफूहरूलाई दिने गरेको अप्सराले बताएकी छन् ।
ए वानमै कार्यरत रहेको बेला अप्सरा र आयुशा दुवै जनालाई जेठ ६, २०८१ को साँझ मानब बेचबिखन अनुसन्धान ब्युरोबाट खटिएको टोलीले उद्धार गरेको थियो । प्रहरीले रेशमविरुद्ध मानव बेचबिखन र जबरजस्ती करणीको कसुरमा काठमाडौं जिल्ला अदालतमा मुद्दा दर्ता गरेको छ । अप्सरा र आयुशा दुवै सेफ हाउसमा छन् ।
ब्युरोका सूचना अधिकारी मिश्रका अनुसार दुवै किशोरीका परिवारलाई खबर गरे पनि हालसम्म लिन नआएको र उनीहरूले पनि घर जान मानेका छैनन् ।
जसरी अप्सरालाई प्रयोग गरेर रेशमले आयुशालाई बोलाएका थिए, त्यस्तै गरेर गाईघाटकी एलिसाकै माध्यमबाट सेवा र सतीशकुमार यादवले अर्की किशोरीलाई समेत बोलाएका थिए । भदौ २२, २०८० मा एलिसासँग सेवाको होटलमा बसेका यादवले भोलिपल्ट उनलाई सिरहाको लहान लगेका थिए । एलिसाले सेवा गए मात्रै लहान जाने भनेपछि एलिसालाई गाडीबाट आऊ भन्दै भाडा दिएर उनीहरू स्कुटरमा लहान पुगेका थिए ।
लहान गएको होटल खर्चबाहेक एक रातको ५ हजार रुपैयाँ लाग्छ भन्दा यादवले मिलाएर दिन्छु भनेको सेवाले प्रहरीसँगको बयानमा बताएका छन् ।
भदौ २३ गते राति लहानको एक होटलमा यादव र एलिसा एउटा कोठामा र सेवा अलग्गै कोठामा सुतेका थिए । भदौ २४ गते दिउँसो लहानको होटलमा बसिरहेको बेला एलिसाले साथीसँग फेसबुक म्यासेन्जरमा कुराकानी गरेको देखेपछि यादवले ती साथीलाई पनि बोलाउन दबाब दिए । सेवाले प्रहरीमा दिएको बयानअनुसार यादवले एलिसाका साथीलाई ‘लहान आऊ मागेजति पैसा दिन्छु’ भनेका थिए ।
तर उनले गाडीभाडा छैन भनेपछि यादव मोटरसाइकल लिएर गाईघाटसम्म गएका थिए । उनलाई लिएर लहान फर्कंदै गर्दा जलजलेको चेकप्वाइन्टमा प्रहरीले मोटरसाइकल रोकेर सोधपुछ गर्दा ती किशोरीले ‘हामीबीच चिनजान नभएको, साथीले होटलमा केही समय बसेपछि पैसा कमाइ हुन्छ भनेकाले लहानतिर जान लागेको’ भनेपछि आफू पक्राउ परेको यादवले बताएका छन् । यादव पक्राउ परेपछि प्रहरीले सेवालाई भदौ २७, २०८० मा पक्राउ गरेर जिल्ला अदालत उदयपुरमा मानव बेचबिखनको मुद्दा दर्ता गरेको छ ।
एलिसाकी साथीका बुबाले एलिसासहित, यादव र सेवालाई आरोपी बनाएर मानव बेचबिखनको अर्को मुद्दा दर्ता गरेका छन् । यी मुद्दा अदातलमा विचाराधीन छन् ।
भारतमा समेत बेचिन्छन्
अनलाइनमार्फत सम्पर्क गरेर किशोरीहरूलाई भारतमा समेत लैजान गरिएको छ । रोजगारी लगाइदिने भनेर सामाजिक सञ्जालमा पोस्ट गर्ने र झुक्याई उनीहरूलाई बेचबिखन गर्ने गिरोह बढ्दै गएको पाइन्छ । यसमा विशेषतः ग्रामीण क्षेत्रका बालबालिकाहरू त्यसको जालमा पर्ने गरेको पाइएको माइती नेपाल विराटनगरका कार्यक्रम संयोजक विनोद पोखरेलले जानकारी दिए ।
“गाउँका सिधासाधा किशोरीहरूलाई आकर्षक तलब हुने भनेर यहाँबाट फकाएर लैजान्छन् । भारततिर पुर्याएपछि वेश्यावृत्तिमा लगाउने गरेको पाइएको छ,” पोखरेलले भने, “बेचबिखन गर्न लैजाने गिरोहले सबैभन्दा बढी सामाजिक सञ्जाल, भाइबर र वाट्स एप प्रयोग गरेको पाइएको छ ।”
माइती नेपालकै गिताञ्जली शर्माले गत साउनमा मात्र फेसबुकको माध्यमबाट चिनजान भएर भारत पुगेकी १३ वर्षकी बालिकालाई उद्धार गरेर फिर्ता ल्याएको जानकारी दिइन् ।
मानव बेचबिखन तथा ओसारपसार एक विश्वव्यापी र बहुआयामिक समस्या हो । हातहतियार र लागूऔषधको अवैध कारोबारजस्तै मानव बेचबिखन तथा ओसारपसार अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय आपराधिक संगठित गिरोहद्वारा सञ्चालित धन्दाका रूपमा विश्वमा फस्टाउँदै गएको छ । अन्यको तुलनामा बेचबिखन र ओसारपसारमा कम जोखिम तर धेरै नाफा आर्जन हुने हुँदा यो अपराधले व्यापकता पाउँदै गएको सामाजिक विश्लेषक विज्ञान लुइँटेल बताउँछन् ।
अहिले सामाजिक सञ्जालले यसलाई थप सहजता दिएको पाइन्छ । “सहर बजारमा व्यावसायिक यौनधन्दा, सस्तो श्रम, सहरी मस्ती, आरामको जीवनशैली नक्कल गर्ने प्रवृत्ति बेचबिखनका लागि तान्ने शक्ति बनेका छन्,” लुइँटेल भन्छन्, “स्थानीय परिवेशमा गरिबी, अशिक्षा, बेरोजगारी, आयआर्जनको अवसरमा कमी, सामाजिक असुरक्षाको प्रभावमा बालबालिका परिरहेका छन् ।”
मिश्रका अनुसार गत आर्थिक वर्ष २०८०/८१ मा ब्युरोले १८ पटक होटल, खाजाघर, मसाज पार्लरलगायतमा छापा मारेर जोखिमपूर्ण काम गर्न बाध्य ६१ जना किशोरीलाई उद्धार गरेको छ । जसमध्येका १४ जनालाई मात्रै परिवारले बुझेर लगेका छन् । अरु सबै सेफ हाउसमै छन् ।
सामाजिक सञ्जालको माध्यमबाट हुने मानव बेचबिखन पर्नबाट जोगिन के गर्ने भन्ने बारेमा ब्युरोले सामाजिक सञ्जालमै विभिन्न पोस्टसमेत गर्ने गरेको मिश्र बताउँछन् । नचिनेका व्यक्तिहरूसँग सामाजिक सञ्जालमा कुराकानी नगर्ने, कसैले कुनै लोभलालच देखाउँदैमा नलोभिने, आफ्नो व्यक्तिगत तथा निजी कुराहरू सामाजिक सञ्जालमा नराख्ने, कसैलाई पनि हत्तपत्त विश्वास नगर्ने र कसैले कुनै प्रस्ताव गरेको छ भने घरपरिवारमा सरसल्लाह गर्नुपर्ने उनको सुझाव छ ।
(यो खोज समाचार निमजिनको फेलोसिप कार्यक्रम अन्तर्गत अस्ट्रेलियन एडको सहयोगमा उत्पादन गरिएको हो । यो सामग्रीको पूर्ण जिम्मेवारी प्रकाशक र लेखकसँग मात्र रहने छ ।)
Earlier this October, Cambodian police rescued 20 Filipino women, who were allegedly trafficked into the country to be used as surrogate mothers in a baby trafficking ring.
Of the 20, at least 13 were pregnant and received care at a local hospital, while the remaining seven are set to be repatriated, according to the Philippine Embassy in Phnom Penh on Tuesday, October 8.
The embassy issued the statement in response to a report by the Cambodia-based Khmer Times on the same day that details the involvement of an unnamed Philippine agency in bringing Filipino women to Cambodia to serve as surrogate mothers, despite the country’s ban on surrogacy.
The Independence Monument in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
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The 13 pregnant Filipino women confirmed that a Philippine agency, working with in vitro fertilization experts in Thailand, arranged their travel to Cambodia “with the ultimate goal of trafficking babies,” according to the report.
Authorities’ interviews of the 20 Filipino women revealed that they were recruited online by an individual who used an apparently “assumed name.” Initially promised travel to another Southeast Asian country, the 20 Filipinos were instead sent to Cambodia.
The identity and nationality of the recruiter is yet to be determined, the embassy said.
“The Embassy emphasizes that human trafficking is a transnational crime, and aside from the Filipino women, the involvement of other nationalities has been established,” the embassy said. “At the time of their rescue, the women were found to be under the care of a local ‘nanny,’ together with four other women from a neighboring country.”
The plight of the 20 trafficked women reflects the alarming rise of online scams across Southeast Asia, where individuals are often lured with false promises of legitimate work, Phillipine Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said in a televised briefing on Wednesday, October 9.
READ: Inside the Story of South Asians Trafficked and Enslaved in Asia’s Booming Scam Compounds
While the department has assisted in the repatriation of several trafficked Filipinos in Cambodia, De Vega said this is the department’s first time hearing about the use of surrogate mothers for such scams.
Cambodia banned surrogacy in 2016 but is yet to pass a law that criminalizes it.
“The problem, according to our embassy, is that we might not even know the agency’s physical address because all contact has been made through social media,” he said in mixed Filipino and English.
De Vega said most of the 20 apparently “knew what they were getting into.”
“It’s not one size fits all. We believe most knew. But it’s impossible that there weren’t at least one or two who thought they were contracted to do something else,” he said.
It’s usually like this: They’re told there’s work in Thailand and Cambodia involving computer or tourism work, but when they get there, they’re suddenly given another job. —Philippine Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega
De Vega said the same scheme could be taking place in other countries besides Cambodia.
Scam operations in Cambodia and other Southeast Asian nations have ensnared numerous Filipinos, subjecting them to human trafficking and forced labor within cyber scam compounds.
Lured by false promises of legitimate jobs, many find themselves trapped in brutal conditions, coerced into working for online scam operators. They also reportedly face threats of violence if they attempt to escape.
Note: This interactive novel is best played on full screen mode on a desktop/laptop. Please click the button on the bottom right to activate full screen. On mobile, you may have to scroll to read the text in its entirety.
A memory from 2022 sent a chill down Mohammad Abdus Salam’s spine sharper than a bone-biting Dhaka night.
In early 2022, the 27-year-old engineering graduate was in his hometown Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, when a school friend whose father ran a local recruiting agency offered him a job he couldn’t refuse. It was for data entry that would fetch him a monthly income of nearly $800, an amount that dwarfed his paltry earnings at a garment factory. Bangladesh’s garment industry, which caters to the international fast-fashion brands, is known for its abysmal minimum wage. In the factory, Salam’s monthly income was just $300. But this job offer, although promising, had one caveat: Moving to Cambodia immediately.
Cambodia, the school friend told Salam, is a new destination for migrants. “He said I have the best education in engineering. I’m able to speak English,” Salam told Asian Dispatch. “I was the perfect person for this job, I was told.”
Salam had never traveled outside his country but as the sole breadwinner of the family, he said yes. With no Cambodian diplomatic mission in Bangladesh, the recruiters took a fee of $3,000 – which Salam paid by mortgaging his family farmland and taking a loan – to book a one-way flight ticket and a tourist visa. He was told he will be able to recover that money once he starts working and his visa will be converted for his employment. But once he was there, he had a shocking revelation.
His “workplace”, which was a casino called Long Beach, was located in Cambodia’s special economic zone called Dara Sakor, 250 kms from the country’s capital Phnom Penh. There, his passport was taken and he was handed a computer, 10 iPhones, and 5 SIM cards. His job, he was told, was to impersonate a young Chinese model through dozens of social media accounts to ensnare male victims and scam them into investing in fraudulent crypto schemes. When he tried to call the Bangladeshi broker who “recruited” him, he was ghosted. He knew then: “I had been sold off.”
Inside the workstation at a scam compound in Cambodia where Md Abdus Salam was trafficked and tortured into working for five months. This photo was taken secretly by Salam himself and has been used with permission.
For the next five months, Salam went through what he described to Asian Dispatch as torture – both mental and physical – in the scam center that housed men from across South Asia. His employers, who he later found were Chinese, beat him with baseball bats and gave him electric shocks if he failed or refused to work. Outside, the compound was surrounded by gun-toting security guards.
“Unless you’ve seen [the crime] for yourself, you’ll never know how horrible it is,” said Salam. “I was forced to work as [the scam centre’s] slave and at one point, I didn’t care about the people getting scammed because of the torture I faced. I didn’t want to end up dead.”
Salam was rescued by an anti-trafficking non-governmental organisation in September 2022. His story is among hundreds of thousands, according to a United Nations estimate, who have been similarly trafficked by criminal gangs and tortured into running illegal crypto scams in Asia. Pig-butchering scams, as the crime is now widely called, derives its name from the farm practice of fattening pigs before slaughter. The crime involves scamming people after building online relationships with the end goal of exacting money.
Asian Dispatch wove in four stories of those affected by pig-butchering scams in the form of a visual novel– embedded at the beginning of this article – to put the readers in the shoes of those forced to be at its epicenter. As of February 2024, as much as $75 billion is estimated to have been moved to crypto exchanges through scam compounds in Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar and China. But what is of particular note is the trafficking of South Asians for the purpose of operating these scams. Once among global leaders in IT skills and services, South Asian techies are increasingly being lured into pig-butchering crime hubs as they struggle with post-pandemic economic slowdown and global tech layoffs.
I was forced to work as [the scam centre’s] slave and at one point, I didn’t care about the people getting scammed because of the torture I faced. I didn’t want to end up dead. – Md Abdus Salam, trafficking survivor
Salam says he was sold thrice by compound owners in slave-like conditions. He returned to Dhaka empty-handed while his captors had exchanged tens of thousands of dollars to sell him.
Anti-trafficking organisations have found that scam compounds across Southeast Asia are heavily barricated and deployed with armed men, making it impossible for trafficked victims to escape. Illustration: Sharanya Eshwar
There is no official estimate of the trapped South Asians but in Bangladesh, a 2023 investigation by news outlet The Daily Star estimated thousands trafficked and tortured in these scam centers. In India, officials say they’ve rescued at least 250 citizens this year while news outlet The Indian Express reported the entrapment of around 5,000 Indians. In countries like Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, the exact number of survivors isn’t known as governments continue to grapple with the crisis.
“We’re in a modern society where we’re traveling all over the world for jobs,” Mechelle Moore, the CEO of an anti-trafficking NGO called Global Alms, told Asian Dispatch. “People aren’t getting jobs in their home countries and [the scam companies] take advantage of that desire to work overseas.”
Moore estimates at least 10,000 trafficking victims stuck in scam compounds that could run up to hundreds if not thousands across Southeast Asia.
“A lot of [these scam] companies lure people who can speak English well, and the jobs advertised for are for logistics, customer service, marketing and so on,” said Moore. “They would specifically target people from South Asian countries that did not have an embassy where they’re operating out of.”
We’re in a modern society where we’re traveling all over the world for jobs. People aren’t getting jobs in their home countries and [the scam companies] take advantage of that desire to work overseas. – Mechelle Moore, CEO, Global Alms
The pandemic provided a big advantage, if not the catalyst, to the criminal network. Civil strife and socio-economic struggles in the host countries add more layers to this complex web of transnational crime.
NGOs like Moore’s have been tracking constructions of new compounds across Asia every year. “They’ve got enough people willing to complete the scams. If the survivors of trafficking don’t want to stay or cause trouble, they’re recycled,” she said. “It’s definitely not dying down.”
Pig butchering scams feed off of job-seekers’ desire and desperation to find a well-paying job, even if it means moving to another country. Illustration: Sharanya Eshwar
Suresh Jayawardena, another pig-butchering trafficking survivor from Sri Lanka, was a “cyber slave” for eight months in Myanmar, where scam compounds have an additional perimeter of armed protection reportedly under the authority of the Myanmar military or its proxies. Jayawardena, who is addressed with a pseudonym, requested anonymity to be quoted in the story due to social stigma associated with the crime in his country. Asian Dispatch spoke to him weeks after he was rescued among dozens of others in April after an intervention and a rescue mission was carried out by the Sri Lankan government.
Like Salam, Jayawardena, too, faced torture when he resisted participating in the crime, which included being stripped, blindfolded and electrocuted. But what’s of note to many anti-trafficking experts is the platform the trafficking victims are given to defraud people. In Jayawardena’s case, it was Telegram, where he offered fake investment opportunities to people desperate for healthy returns.
A recreation of Suresh Jayawardena’s experience of being tricked into believeing he was joining a high-paying job in Myanmar, but ending up being forced to scam victims with fraudulent investment offers. Jayawardena spoke to Asian Dispatch on condition of anonymity. Illustration: Sharanya Eshwar
“It’s clear to me that at various stages of the pig-butchering scam, the onboarding of victims of scams happens on [social media] platforms. This is an obvious win [for the scammers],” Erin West, a prosecutor from Santa Clara County in California, US, told Asian Dispatch. West investigates crypto crimes with primarily American victims, and trains law-enforcement agencies across the US to trace cryptocurrency transitions.
A few months ago, she started ‘Operation Shamrock’, which brings together private and public stakeholders across the world, including big tech companies, to lead a concerted fight against pig-butchering scams. During one of the meetings she held with big tech platforms, she told the representatives that their platforms were enabling the crime. “They didn’t appreciate the language and didn’t want to cooperate,” she said.
“There’s a pressing need for global communities to be involved,” West adds. “I don’t believe these people, the scammers, are untouchables.”
Troy Gochenour, who works at the Global Anti-Scam Organization (GASO), says pig-butchering crimes are of “pandemic proportions.” “We’re living in the age of scam-demic,” he told Asian Dispatch. GASO was set up in 2021 by victims of pig-butchering scams, which includes Gochenour himself. By 2022, the organisation had connected with 1,483 victims worldwide who had suffered losses to the tune of $256 million. This means that every victim lost at least $173,000.
This is why this crime is so insidious because at the other end of the phone is someone who is trained to do this. The so-called relationship is a planned operation.— Troy Gochenour, Global Anti-Scam Organization
Gochenour, an American citizen, lost $28,500 in a liquidity mining scam after developing an online relationship with an online profile of who he thought was an Asian woman called Kris Gia. “The allure [of Kris] was her offer to provide me companionship. We would talk like we’re boyfriend-girlfriend or husband-wife,” said Gochenour. “This is why this crime is so insidious because at the other end of the phone is someone who is trained to do this. The so-called relationship is a planned operation.”
A recreation of the story shared by Troy Gochenour, who found himself on the other end of the pig-butchering scam. He lost $28,500 through a fake profile that he believed was real and was in relationship with. He’s among thousands of victims of these scams. Illustration: Sharanya Eshwar
The victims of the pig-butchering scams aren’t always those in the West. Moore confirms that the scam companies target those in Asian countries too, and hire people from that region to scam them. “We’ve had Vietnamese trafficking victims who were trafficked specifically to scam people in Vietnam. Same with Indonesia, Malaysia, and Chinese,” she said. “It’s a global effort.”
The story of Sandun Silva from Sri Lanka illustrates this. The 34-year-old journalist, who also spoke to Asian Dispatch on condition of anonymity, was introduced to a Telegram group last year after he accepted an online content writing “job” that was attached with a fraudulent investment opportunity. All the admins in the group texted in and spoke Sinhalese. De Silva lost his family savings amounting to $4,000. Even now, the father of two hasn’t told his family about it.
Gochenour says that the first thing tech platforms should do is take down fake profiles when they’re reported. This feature, especially on Meta, is often automated, which Gochenour says doesn’t always resolve the problem. In India, Meta, in its April report, documented receiving over 27,000 reports of fake profiles on Facebook and Instagram but admitted a significant chunk of them were not actioned.
“Unfortunately, there’s not a lot that has been done by these platforms themselves,” Gochenour adds. “Law enforcement has, at times, shut down platforms, but that is only if they’re connected to a particular case they’re working on.”
In May this year, leading tech firms, Match Group, Coinbase, Meta, and Ripple formed a coalition called Tech Against Scam to respond to and prevent online fraud and financial schemes that target consumers through their platforms. Asian Dispatch reached out to Telegram and Meta to understand how they’re tackling these crimes but didn’t get any responses. This story will be updated when it comes.
Early this year, when Asian Dispatch reached out to Salam in Dhaka, he had been back home for a few months. Unlike all survivors quoted in this story, he chose not to be anonymous. He was rescued in 2022 by GASO, which he had covertly reached out to while living at the scam compound. GASO had pressured his “bosses” to release him along with a few others.
Abdus Salam is determined to raise awareness about how the struggles of trafficking survivors don’t end with getting out of the scam compounds. It continues for years. Illustration: Sharanya Eshwar
However, Salam’s struggles didn’t end there. During the course of his captivity, he had exceeded his visa duration by over 100 days. Since he didn’t get paid by his compound employers, he didn’t have money to pay the visa fine and buy a flight ticket. He finally was sponsored by a friend. Today, he works for a non-profit called Humanity Research Consultancy (HRC), which facilitates survivors’ repatriation after they’re rescued from scam centres.
Once home, a battered Salam underwent spinal surgery for injuries inflicted by the torture. He also struggled psychologically to come to terms with the time and money he lost in that period. But his family’s support helped him take his next steps.
“They told me, ‘It’s fine you lost your money. At least you are still alive.’”
Now, Salam helps other survivors of trafficking even after they’re rescued from the compounds.
“This is the right time for me to commit myself to this mission,” he said. “To the mission of survivors’ rights.”
Rajkumar Thing, a six-year-old boy from Phulbari in Marin Rural Municipality, Ward no. 4, Sindhuli, Nepal, is playing near his house. As soon as Kana Thing from Deurali, a neighboring village, meets him, he proposes to take Rajkumar to study at a monastery in India. Luring the innocent child, he promises, “If you go to study at a monastery in India, you will become a great Lama, earn a lot of money, and get free food, accommodation, and education.”
Rajkumar, at a playful age, is thrilled by the proposal to go far away from home.
Kana, a 28-year-old man, had arrived in Phulbari on the first week of Jestha, 2076 (May, 2019) searching for boys of Rajkumar’s age to take them to a monastery to become monks. He followed Rajkumar, whom he had met on the street, all the way to his house.
Kana proposed to Rajkumar’s mother, Sunimaya, to take him to India for education. Sunimaya agreed to send her son as Rajkumar also expressed a desire to go to the monastery and Kana’s offer seemed reasonable. Kana had already proposed the offer to Rajkumar’s friends, Mingmar Moktan(8) and Man Bahadur Yonjan(12). Mingmar’s mother, Anita, and Man Bahadur’s mother, Kanchhimaya, also agreed to send their sons. Sunimaya feels comfortable sending her son because he will be going with his friends from the village who play and study together.
Home of Somraj Thing. Photo: Kalpana Bhattarai/NIMJN
The parents send their sons to India based solely on the promise of being taken to a monastery in India, without any knowledge of the location, purpose, method or duration of their stay. In total, 18 boys from Marin, including Rajkumar, Mingmar, and Man Bahadur, were taken to India through the Malangwa border checkpoint in Sarlahi in Jestha, 2076 (June, 2019). Their own parents helped them cross the border. They left their children in the care of Lal Singh Bal, Kalsang Lama and Kana before returning home.
Rajkumar, who went to the Drepung Gomang Monastery in Karnataka, South India, with the dream of studying and becoming a great monk, initially enjoyed himself there. However, as days passed, he wanted to return home. When he spoke to his mother through someone from the monastery, he expressed his strong desire to come home permanently and asked her to come get him soon.
His parents, who had no idea where to go or how to get him when they sent him to study, were now in a dilemma. Their son, who they had expected would return only after completing his education, was now insisting on coming back midway. So, they asked the people at the monastery to bring Rajkumar home.
Since Rajkumar refused to stay and was adamant about returning, the people from Drepung Gomang Monastery brought him to a monastery in Kathmandu in the first week of Asar, 2080 (June, 2023). Sunimaya, who had accompanied her son to the border in Sarlahi in 2019, went to Kathmandu herself to bring him back four years later, in 2023. When she had left him earlier, she had cried for a month. It was the same this time around too. The only difference was that the tears she shed earlier were of separation, while now these were tears of reunion.
After learning about Rajkumar’s return, we visited his home in Chyane, Marin, Rural Municipality-4, Sindhuli for the second time on Shrawan 27, 2080 (August 12, 2023). Six months prior to this, on Magh 28, 2079 (February 11, 2023), we visited Chyane and Deurali in Kapilakot Rural Municipality, Ward no. 6, for the first time. Back then, we had met some children who had returned from monasteries in India. Our purpose for visiting again was to understand why Rajkumar agreed to go to the monastery, how he was taken to India, what happened there, and why and how he returned.
Braving the monsoon rain and flooded local rivers, we reached there to find Rajkumar playing with his friends, just like he was when Kana met him in 2076 (2019). “We couldn’t play like this there,” he said, stopping his game to talk to us. “We had to follow strict discipline and rules.” When asked about his experiences at the monastery in India, he replied, looking scared. Considering his state, we talked to him in the presence of his parents. Even then, he answered with a downcast gaze and kept fidgeting with his fingers.
Somraj Thing (Rajkumar’s father). Photo: Kalpana Bhattarai/NIMJN
Rajkumar, who is now enrolled in grade 4 at Khayarsaal Madhyamik Vidyalaya in the village after returning home, finds a vast difference in teaching methods between here and the monastery. In the monastery, he had to study from 5:30 am till 12:00 midnight. He was required to understand and recite the day’s lessons at night. By the time he could go to bed, it would be 1:00 am. If he couldn’t complete his classwork properly or made mistakes, he would be beaten.
“The teacher would hit me wherever he could reach,” Rajkumar narrated his ordeal. “I have been beaten with sticks and even phone charger cables. Whenever I was beaten, I would cry, thinking about home and my village.” He feels that the fear of being beaten always loomed over him whenever he had to present his classwork.
Rajkumar vividly remembers a time when he was severely beaten for accidentally dropping and breaking a cup during a prayer ceremony in the monastery. “My whole body was bruised, it is healing only now,” he says.
According to him, the monastery provided food, accommodation, and education. However, any mistake resulted in harsh beatings, which is why many of his friends there also wanted to return home. “I would be exhausted after studying all day, and if I could not complete the classwork at night, I would not be allowed to sleep,” says Rajkumar. “I could not take it anymore, so I came home. I have no desire to go back there ever again.” When he went to India, he was six years old. Now, he is 10.
Sunimaya, his mother, was initially unaware of the problems her son faced at the monastery. She says that initially, their phone conversations with Rajkumar were limited to answering their questions, and he would not share anything else. The first time they spoke to him after he was sent to the monastery in 2076 (2019) was two months later.
His father, Somraj, says it took time for Rajkumar to adjust to being back with the family and talk openly. “Things are slowly getting better,” he says.
We reached out to the Drepung Gomang Monastery and the Delhi Police to ask about the minors, including Rajkumar Thing, being taken to India to study. We have not received any response from them as of June 24, 2024.
Screenshot of email sent to Drepung Gomang Monastery. Image: NIMJN
According to Sub-section 2 of Section 15 of the Act Relating to Children (2018), every child has the right to free and compulsory basic education and free secondary education in a child-friendly environment, as per the prevailing laws. Similarly, Sub-section 3 states that every child has the right to education through appropriate learning materials and teaching methods according to their specific physical and mental conditions, as per the prevailing laws. Taking Rajkumar to India to make him a monk and the hardships he endured at the monastery clearly demonstrate a violation of these rights and an injustice done to him, according to child rights activist Milan Dharel.
Neglect of the authorities
During the scorching heat of Jestha (May), Rajkumar said goodbye to his mother. He along with 18 other boys crossed into India with Lal Singh Bal, Kalsang Lama and Kana. After spending three days in Delhi, they boarded a train to Karnataka. At the Nizamuddin Railway Station in Delhi, the sight of 18 children without guardians on their way to Karnataka alarmed the Delhi Police, who took them into custody. Upon learning that the children were Nepali, the police suspected smuglling and immediately informed the Nepali Embassy in Delhi. Coincidentally, the then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ was on a visit to India at that time. Busy with welcoming the prime minister, the embassy officials sent a Nepali organization called ‘Afanta Nepal’ (KIN) to check on the condition of the children apprehended at the railway station.
According to Navin Joshi, the then rescue officer at Afant Nepal who reached the police station, it was confirmed that the children were brought through illegal means. However, instead of sending them home, they were allowed to proceed to their destination. Documents were requested from the Karnataka monastery to release the children from police custody. These documents mentioned that the children were being taken to become novice monks. Joshi further states that the people accompanying the children had nothing but birth certificates.
(Left) Letter sent from the Karnataka’s Gumba to the Indian Police. (Right) Letter sent by the Human Rights Commission to the police. Images: NIMJN
Even though the children were allowed to go to the monastery, Joshi wrote letters to the Human Trafficking Investigation Bureau, the Child Rights Council, and the Human Rights Commission, urging them to take immediate action to rescue the children and return them to Nepal due to the risk of trafficking.
Based on this, the Human Rights Commission also wrote a letter on Asar 9, 2076 (June 24, 2019), requesting the Human Trafficking Investigation Bureau to rescue the children, return them to Nepal, and provide information on the matter. In response, the Human Trafficking Investigation Bureau’s letter stated, “Sent with parental consent and in touch with family.”
The letter mentioned that contact could not be established with the parents of three of the 18 children: Chhenmong Dorje Tamang, Raju Bholan and Sang Bahadur Waiba. There were meetings, discussions and debates between government and non-government agencies regarding whether or not to repatriate the children who were taken to the monastery illegally without completing the process.
Letter sent by the Human Trafficking Investigations Bureau to the Human Rights Commission. Image: NIMJN
The discussions also raised concerns about the children’s rights, well-being and protection. However, investigating the situation of the children sent there did not fall under anyone’s responsibility. Anupam Rana, the then Superintendent of Police at the Human Trafficking Investigation Bureau, states, “In the end, the case was closed with a light comment saying they were sent to study.”
Somraj Thing, Rajkumar’s father, says he only found out about the illegal method used to take his son after the police stopped him in Delhi. According to him, the Kapilakot Area Police Office in Marin called them and asked them to sign documents stating they could contact their son by phone and that he was safe.
The documents we found at the Kapilakot Area Police Office on Asar 27, 2080 (July 12, 2023) confirm this. Records show that the Human Trafficking Investigation Bureau wrote to the Sindhuli District Police Office In Bhadra of 2076 (mid-August to mid-September, 2019), who then forwarded it to the Kapilakot Area Police Office.
Response made by the police
Report prepared in Kapilakot
(Left) Response by the police. (Right) Report prepared in Kapilakot. Images: NIMJN
According to records from the then Kapilakot Police Office, a local investigation report was created in the presence of the then Ward Chairmen, Kursang Lama (Ward 6) and Dhan Bahadur Syangtan (Ward 4) of Marin Rural Municipality. This report stated that the children were ‘safe and studying’, and the parents were made to sign and stamp it. However, Kursang Lama, the then Ward Chairman of Ward 6, was himself involved in collecting children from the village and sending them to the monastery in India. It appears the police created this report solely based on what the parents were told, without contacting the monastery or verifying the children’s well-being.
Article 3 of the Palermo Protocol defines such movement as falling within the definition of trafficking. The article defines trafficking as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability, or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits in exchange for a person’s consent to having control exercised over that person. Based on this definition, it can be argued that these 18 children were victims of trafficking and smuggling. However, the authorities, including the Human Trafficking Investigation Bureau, normalized the movement of these children.
Binod Sharma, Superintendent of Police at the Sindhuli District Police Office, acknowledges the mistake. “The police should not have done that,” he says. “How did such a mistake happen back then?” However, he claims he does not have any information about the incident as he recently joined the office.
Who benefits from smuggling children?
There is no exact data on the number of children from Marin who have been sent to monasteries in India. Kajiman Thing, coordinator of the Tamang Ghilin organization in Marin-4, estimates that the number could be between 50 and 60. He says that poor parents send their children hoping for a better life, but emphasizes that separating young children from their families in the name of religion and cultural preservation is worriying. Thing fears that being raised far from family and their country could lead to a loss of language, culture and identity.
“Parents assume their children are well cared for but they lack information about the environment, treatment or educational quality at the monasteries,” Thing says.
There have not been any studies on the conditions within these monasteries. Neither the parents nor the people taking the children seem to consider the children’s interests or psychology, often using the guise of traditional religious and cultural preservation. This has a negative impact on the children’s mental, social and emotional development. Thupten Tamang, a Buddhist philosophy scholar, observes that children brought to monasteries at a young age tend to develop problems like being socially distant, aggressive, and withdrawn.
Thupten has witnessed similar issues in children of his relatives who were sent to study at a young age and other children who studied in monasteries.
Even non-Buddhist children are in monasteries
There are cases where children from non-Buddhist communities are also lured to monasteries in India under the pretense of being educated in Buddhism and preserving the culture.
For example, in Bhadra of 2078 (August 2021), 14 Dalit children from Kunji and nearby areas in Ward 5 of Mustang’s Thasang Rural Municipality were rescued from being taken to India on the pretext of becoming Lamas (Buddhist monks). Sunil Dahal, the then Deputy Superintendent of Police at the Kakarvitta Area Police Office, explains that the children were dressed in Lama clothing and were being taken across the border illegally when they were rescued. Police records indicate that smugglers often take children from the East through western borders and vice versa.
Basanta Maharjan, a Buddhist writer and scholar, states that the practice of collecting children from villages and taking them to Indian monasteries is old. According to him, neither the ward offices nor the municipalities have any information about the children taken in this way. “To which monasteries are they being taken? From where are they all being collected? What happens to them after they are taken to the monasteries?” He questions. He further says, “We have no data on how many children are studying in monasteries in India.”
Sexual abuse of children in monasteries
There have been cases of violence and sexual abuse against children kept in monasteries and religious institutions in India. According to an online article published in the Daily Tribune in 2018, 15 boys were subjected to beatings and sexual abuse. The police arrested Bhante Shanghpriya Sujoy, a Bangladeshi citizen who headed the ‘Prasanna Jyoti Buddhist School and Meditation Center in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India. He was accused of beating, sexually abusing and forcing the boys in the monastery to dance naked.
Following his arrest, the International Buddhist Council (IBC) held an emergency meeting and passed a resolution condemning the heinous crime against children in the name of religious education. The resolution also proposed expelling any institution involved in such acts from the Council’s membership. It is important to note that many monasteries in India operate without registering with the IBC.
In 2020, Rinpoche Gyana Vajra, President and Head Lama of Shakya Academy in Dehradun, India, was accused of beating 51 Nepali students aged 6 to 17 who requested permission to return home for the Dashain-Tihar holidays. He allegedly beat and confined the students who submitted the request. The incident became public after the victims themselves spoke up. The Nepali Embassy in India and an organization called Help Cross rescued the students and brought them back to Nepal.
Section 64 (1) of the Act Relating to Children (2018) allows the children themselves or concerned individuals to file a complaint with the local government or the local government’s judicial committee if a child’s rights are violated or if the responsibilities towards the child as outlined in Section 3 are not fulfilled. However, no complaints have been registered regarding these issues.
Why Nepali children?
According to Buddhist writer and scholar Basanta Maharjan, monasteries prefer young children because of the belief that their strong memory allows them to memorize religious texts (sutras) more easily. Memorizing becomes more difficult after a certain age. He explains, “Younger children can grasp things better than older ones. They focus on memorizing until a certain age, after which it becomes harder.”
Monasteries with a larger number of students can also use them to impress donors and gain financial or other advantages. Therefore, they strive to have a high number of students. Since there are fewer children studying in monasteries in India, they specifically target Nepali children.
Lal Singh Bal, who takes children to monasteries, claims that the education and facilities are better in Indian monasteries compared to Nepal. He argues that Nepali children are the preferred choice for Indian monasteries because they (especially those from poor and disadvantaged communities) are easier to convince and can be offered fewer amenities.
The plight of returnees
Based on information provided by relatives in Nepal after finding 18 children, including Rajkumar, at the Nizamuddin Railway Station in Delhi, the Human Rights Commission urged the Human Trafficking Investigation Bureau to rescue the children.
The commission’s letter provided us with the names and addresses of the children. Following these addresses, on Magh 28, 2079 (February 11, 2023), we first reached Chyane in Ward 4 and Kapilakot Deurali in Ward 6 of Marin Rural Municipality, Sindhuli.
At that time, we learned that Kulsaang Thing (13) and Dhudraj (14) from Kapilakot had returned home after three-and-a-half years. Buddhabahadur Bal, also from Kapilakot, had been back for eight months. They were convinced to leave by their neighbor Lalbahadur Bal, who promised they could earn a lot of money after becoming Lamas (Buddhist monks), while they were still in grade 6 in the village school.
Man Bahadur Yonjan’s house. Photo: Kalpana Bhattarai/NIMJN
Sushil, Man Bahadur’s elder brother, also went to study at the same monastery in Karnataka. Their mother, Kanchhi Maya, says she sent them due to their insistence on studying. According to her memory, she only made phone contact with her older son, Sushil, after a year of him being gone.
For a long time, Kanchhi Maya has been tormented by the memory of her younger son, Man Bahadur, who is seven hundred kilometers away from home. While Sushil has returned, Man Bahadur remains there. She says, “If my son returns, I do not plan to send him back.”
Kulsang, who returned home after three-and-a-half years, says he did not know what studying to be a Lama entailed, how the studies would be conducted, or what his future would hold. He came back because the environment and the style of teaching did not suit him. Now 16 years old, Kulsang says, “Going there made me miss my studies here. Now I plan to learn about Lama teachings in the village itself.”
He does not know if this knowledge will help him earn a living, but currently, he does not have any other option. Dudhraj, who returned home with him, has started working at a hotel in Kathmandu because he could not find any other choice. He has the responsibility of supporting his family.
Marin Village. Photo: Kalpana Bhattarai/NIMJN
Sushil Tamang from Marin Fulbari is preparing to go to Malaysia for foreign employment. He returned because he thought studying to be a Lama in the monastery would take too long. The monastery taught Tibetan, Russian and Nepali students together. However, Nepali students were excluded when it came to making Aadhaar cards.
The person who had taken him, Kana had also taken the 18 boys. Even Kana had been sold to a hotel by a person in the village, according to Lalsingh Bal. While working at the hotel, he met people from the monastery and was then taken there. Since the time he was studying, Kana had been working for the monastery itself. Kanchhi Maya says that Kana not only took her two sons but also used to take other children and teenagers from the village. Kana passed away two years ago.
Starting school again
Supuwang Lama from Kapilakot returned home after studying for five years at a monastery in India. At the age of 13, he and 12 others from the village left to study at a monastery in Siliguri, India. They lacked clear information about the environment and subjects before going. A relative from the same village who was already studying at that monastery took them there.
Supuwang spent five years at the monastery before returning at the age of 18. He had completed grade 5 before leaving for the monastery, but upon returning, he enrolled in grade 8. However, while at the monastery, he forgot his own language. He could not read or write Nepali well enough to take exams.
Most of the 10 who returned with him are now working abroad. Now that educational certificates are required almost everywhere, Supuwang has resumed his studies in the village. At the age of 23, he is taking the SEE (Secondary Education Examination) exams. He says, “I am learning Lama knowledge and skills here in the village, but I regret not being able to complete both paths of education.”
In his view, many leave Lama studies incomplete because it is difficult. His younger brother Wangsen, who had been studying at the same monastery for six years, refused to return home.
Supuwang’s experience suggests that those who drop out of their studies lack sufficient knowledge. Additionally, the teachings in some Indian monasteries may not align with Nepali religion and culture and may not be practical. The knowledge he received at the monastery itself did not fit well with the village culture either. According to Supuwang, some monasteries do not provide proper education and skills, resulting in monks who have not learned much even after 10 years of study. He advises that before going, one should thoroughly understand the teaching style, culture, and environment of the monastery.
Quoting his fellow monks whom he met at an event for Buddhist monks and Lamas in Bodh Gaya, India, he says, “Some monasteries in Sikkim make students studying to be monks cut grass, milk cows and do cleaning chores.”
The Act Relating to Children (2018) guarantees several rights for children, including protection from economic exploitation (Section 7 (6) (a)) and from any act that could cause harm, hinder their education or impede their physical, mental, moral or social development (Section 7 (6) (b)). However, children sent to monasteries seem to be deprived of these rights.
Mental health problems of children separated from families
According to a 2010 article titled ‘Families Not Orphanages’ published in the Better Care Network Working Journal, residential institutions with strict rules limit interaction with family and society. This makes it difficult for children to establish and maintain healthy relationships from childhood to adolescence. The study also found that the mental development of children in residential institutions was 33% lower than that of children who are integrated with their families and communities.
Hasina Shrestha, a clinical child psychologist at the Kanti Children’s Hospital, emphasizes the need for a safe and secure environment in residential schools and institutions where children are placed for education. “A bad environment can lead to lifelong psychological problems,” she says. According to Shrestha, children in such situations may exhibit symptoms of depression, anxiety, withdrawal, irritability, isolation, fear and even suicidal thoughts. When children are unable to contact their families for extended periods, they may try to run away or self-harm.
There are monasteries for higher education in Nepal
Nepal already has well-equipped monasteries in places like Swayambhu, Chobar, Boudha and Pharping. However, there is a trend of sending underprivileged children aged 6-17 from villages to monasteries in India.
Buddhist writer and scholar Basanta Maharjan argues that there is no need to send children abroad since Nepal already has well-equipped monasteries that offer higher education. “There are language barriers when studying in another country,” he says. “They teach in Tibetan, Hindi and the local language. By the time they return to Nepal, they may have forgotten Nepali.”
Maharjan adds that even if English is taught, these children might only be able to go to Europe or America. Otherwise, they would be limited to staying within the monastery. He believes it is better to keep children in the country and teach them their own courses. “If we can teach our children our own courses,” Maharjan says, “even if they go abroad, they will have knowledge of Nepali religion and culture. They will be able to speak confidently about their own religion and culture.”
He argues that by properly raising and educating Lamas, they can then educate followers abroad and promote Nepali religion and culture. Maharjan mentions how foreigners come to Nepal to see and understand Nepali Buddhism and culture. He says, “This can contribute to the promotion of Nepal’s historical, religious and cultural tourism.”
Maharjan clarifies that he is not against sending children abroad for studies altogether, but that priority should be given to monasteries and schools within Nepal. There is still demand for children in monasteries – Lal Singh Bal, the person responsible for taking children to monasteries.
Lal Singh Bal. Photo: Kalpana Bhattarai/NIMJN
No one knows exactly when the practice of taking children from Nepal to monasteries in India began. However, I know that children have been taken from places like Marin in Sindhuli since around 1998.
There are currently 60 children studying at the Drepung Gomang Monastery in Karnataka, India. When the monastery needs more students, they collect children from villages.
Once they cross the border, people associated with the monastery come to pick them up. These monasteries sometimes operate restaurants in various locations in India, and people from those restaurants may also come to collect the children.
In Jestha, 2076 (June 2019), we were caught by the police in Malangwa, Sarlahi, while trying to put 18 children on a train to Delhi. The police released them only after the monastery provided documents. There were no documents or recommendations made when taking them from Nepal. We went without them because the ward office would not provide a recommendation, and the monastery was pressuring us to bring the children. They do not provide anything except food, snacks and travel expenses when taking them from here. They do not provide any documents except a pamphlet with the monastery’s contact number.
Previously, when we prepared to send 8 or 9 children, they were caught by the police at the border in Sunauli. After the police released the children who were accompanied by their parents, they were sent again through the Malangwa checkpoint.
The monastery is still asking for children but the ward has not provided a recommendation this time. It is difficult to cross the border without documents, so I have not been able to take them.
Since the ward would not give a recommendation and it became difficult to cross the border, I have not been sending children anymore. They were sent to study Buddhist philosophy, religion and culture. But I do not know much about what happens over there or what kind of education they receive.