BIRATNAGAR, July 8: Police have arrested a woman in Biratnagar on charges of forcing girls into sex trade by luring them with the promises of job opportunities.

The arrested has been identified as Sandhya Chudal, 24, a resident of Garamani, Birtamod Municipality-8, Jhapa. Chudal had rented a flat in Gudri Bazar, Biratnagar with the purpose of running a sex trade, forcing girls into the trade. Police claim that Chudal, along with other people, was involved in running the racket.

Police have rescued six women from the rented flat in Gudri Bazar, Biratnagar-11. The rescued women are aged between 21 to 23 years. Nawaraj Karki, Superintendent of Police (SP) of the District Police Office, Morang, said that the rescued women include one each from Kathmandu, Kavrepalanchowk, Syangja and Udayapur  while two are from Jhapa. Police said that they were brought to Biratnagar with the promise of finding them jobs.

According to the police, Chudal’s group was running an illicit sex trade. They used to send women to hotels and other locations as specified by their clients.

Chudal’s group used to torture the girls if they refused to go to the said places. The rescued women had wounds of violence on their bodies, the police said.

According to the police, Chudal and Raj Kumar Shah, about 30 years old, had rented a flat in Gudri Bazar, Biratnagar, and were running a sex racket. Even though Chudal has been arrested, Shah is absconding. Police are currently conducting a search operation to locate him.