The Saudi Arabian diplomat accused of raping two Nepalese maids at his Gurgaon flat has left India, while the daughter-in-law of one of the victims has been arrested in Nepal on suspicion of trafficking the two women to Delhi.
“The first secretary, being a diplomat, is governed by the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations,” an external affairs ministry spokesperson said late Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia had refused to revoke Majed Hassan Ashoor’s diplomatic immunity, making it impossible for him to be tried in India. Though India had urged the Saudis to cooperate with the police probe, the Gulf country had refused to accept the charges against Ashoor, calling them false. His withdrawal remained the easiest way to resolve the impasse.
In a further twist to the case, the Nepal police arrested the daughter-in-law of the older victim from the tourist town of Pokhara, 200km northwest of Kathmandu, on Tuesday night.
“The woman and her brother are responsible for trafficking both victims and selling them to their contacts in Delhi for Rs 100,000 each,” said Kiran Bajracharya, spokesperson for the Central Investigation Bureau wing of the Nepal police.
The accused is a Kathmandu-based agent who had lured many Nepalese women, including the two victims, with promises of jobs abroad and handed them over to an agent, Anwar, in Delhi, the police said.
{{/usCountry}}The accused is a Kathmandu-based agent who had lured many Nepalese women, including the two victims, with promises of jobs abroad and handed them over to an agent, Anwar, in Delhi, the police said.
{{/usCountry}}Her brother was also arrested from the Nepalese capital and a case of human trafficking registered against both.
The victims had flown home last week, days after their dramatic rescue from the diplomat’s home.
“We are conducting investigations and are in touch with our counterparts in Delhi,” said Bajracharya.
Every year, thousands of women are trafficked from Nepal to India where they end up either in brothels or as domestic workers. Many are also sent to West Asia, Africa and southeast Asia via India. According to police and NGOs, trafficking has gone substantially up since the April earthquake that destroyed large parts of the impoverished country.
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