Police, DCW chief spar over 16 Nepal women rescued from flat in Delhi
The Delhi Police has refuted DCW chief Swati Maliwal’s claims and said the women were not victims of trafficking but were cheated by people who had promised them jobs.
The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) and the Delhi Police sparred on Wednesday after DCW chief Swati Maliwal claimed that 16 women from Nepal who were rescued from a house in South Delhi’s Munirka on Tuesday night were “trafficked” to Delhi and held “hostage”.
The Delhi Police refuted Maliwal’s claims and said the women were not victims of trafficking but were cheated by people who had promised them jobs.
Maliwal said the women were lured to Delhi by traffickers, saying they would be given good jobs. She alleged that the women were to be sold to buyers in Iraq and Kuwait and. Seven women from Nepal were sold to traffickers in the two countries a fortnight ago, she said.
“We have been told that out of the seven, two were sent to Iraq while the other five are in Kuwait. One among them became pregnant there,” said Maliwal, alleging the house where the foreign women were locked was just 500 meters away from the Vasant Vihar police station.
“I wonder why DCW gets to know about it and the Delhi Police never knows about these activities,” she said.
The DCW chief said around 7 pm on Tuesday, she received a tip off from an NGO named Key Nepal that 16 women were illegally trafficked into the city and they were being sent to foreign countries.
“I along with my team members reached the house in Munirka where the women were held hostage. We took police assistance and rescued the women. All of them are now at a shelter home. Efforts are being made to send them back to Nepal,” said Maliwal.
All the rescued women are from impoverished places, including an earthquake affected district in Nepal.
The Delhi Police, however, refuted the DCW’s allegation that the rescued women were illegally brought to Delhi and kept in the flat against their will.
“We have registered a case of cheating and forgery because the women were promised jobs but were not given even after staying in the house for last 20-25 days. We are looking for the cheats and the person who is in the possession of their passports and other documents,” said Devendra Arya, deputy commissioner of police (southwest).
A police officer associated with the case said the women are between the age group of 20 and 30 years and none of them in their statements have alleged that that they were brought to Delhi against their will or were pushed into any illegal work.
The DCW chief on the other hand alleged that the trafficking racket was being run by “highly influential” people and the women to be sold to the contacts of the traffickers in Iraq and Kuwait.
“Human trafficking will continue to happen in our country and Delhi will remain a hub until Delhi Police’s accountability is set. I have appealed to Union home minister Rajnath Singh time and again to take out time for Delhi and hold at least two meetings every month with L-G, Delhi police chief, chief minister and DCW,” she added.