Nepal’s missing girl turns out to be trafficker, gives cops the slip

Amitava Banerjee, HT, 21 June 2016, DARJEELING: In a new twist, the minor girl, who had gone missing from Nepal and was thought to be a victim of trafficking, has turned out to be a trafficker. She allegedly lured vulnerable girls and forced them into flesh trade.

Sixteen-year-old Sunnidhi (name changed) had gone missing from a remote village in Sinndhupalchowk district of Nepal in January this year. Maiti Nepal, an NGO working on trafficking in Nepal, alerted Mankind in Action for Rural Growth (MARG,) a partner NGO, in April.

MARG has 12 ‘Students Against Trafficking Clubs’ (SATC) running successfully in the schools of Darjeeling. They comprise students of Class 10, 11 and 12, who have been sensitized on the human trafficking issue and in turn work in this area.

The SATCs were alerted regarding the missing girl. Four of the students from a SATC came across Sunnidhi on a social networking site and befriended her. They posed as children wanting to run away from their homes in search of jobs.

Sunnidhi immediately offered them jobs. Her accomplices in New Delhi sent them fake aadhaar cards and appointment letters. The police were informed and a trap was laid which nabbed traffickers Ugen Tshering Bhutia (23) of Jaldhaka in the Kalimpong sub-division and Srijana Rai (22) of Kumai in Darjeeling.

The following day, Pranita Mukhia (22), an inhabitant of Sipchu in Jalpaiguri, who operates from Delhi, was arrested from Rajdhani Express. The trail then led to the arrest of Gagan Verma, the kingpin from his residence in DLF, Phase 2, Gurgaon, by the Darjeeling police in a joint raid with Haryana police on Saturday. However Sunnidhi managed to give police a slip. It is learnt that she entered Nepal by road. “We have lodged a manhunt for her and keeping a close tab in several areas especially in the West Bengal-Nepal border areas. We are also interacting with our counterparts in Nepal,” said Amit P Javalgi, SP Darjeeling.

“Sunnidhi is a human trafficker. She is the one who was constantly interacting with our students , who were posing as girls from Nepal planning to run away. She was coaxing them to run away and luring them with promises of jobs and flashy lifestyle,” said Nirnay John Chettri, president, MARG.

It is believed that this minor from Nepal has got fake Indian citizenship documents, including Aadhar card and voter ID card. Unconfirmed reports state that there is no major criminal case registered against Sunnidhi in Nepal except a missing case. She can be let off very easily if she enters Nepal.