Gautam arrested for trafficking Nepali people

Police have arrested a man of Rukum in Nepal, currently living in the United States of America, for trafficking Nepali people to various foreign countries. Hasta Gautam, 52, who is currently living in Texas, collected over Rs 20 million from his clients for sending them to various countries for jobs, said the Human Trafficking Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police.

 Gautam is the mastermind in the trafficking and has so far trafficked around 200 Nepali people to the US. He trafficked the Nepali people by deploying agents in various countries, said the police, adding that he deployed five agents in various countries including Nepal, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Colombia and Latin America.

Earlier, the Bureau had already started investigations after registering five cases against three of the agents.

The police rescued four people who have been victimised by Gautam, and two others are yet to be rescued, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Gyan Bahadur Bista.

"Complaints have been filed mentioning that 13 people have been stranded under the pretext of sending them to various countries for employment," he mentioned.

Gautam's agents confiscate passports and mobile phones of his clients after taking them to various countries and demand a large amount of money from them, added Bista.

The agents' used to mete out tortures to them, and sell them and strand them if they refused to do what they demanded from them. After getting a seven-day custody remand from the court, the police have been investigating the matter, shared Bista. ---