KATHMANDU, Nov 12: The Kathmandu District Court has extended the detention of former minister for internal affairs and law of Koshi Province, Lila Ballab Adhikari, and eight others for seven more days for their alleged involvement in human trafficking.
On Tuesday, Judge Dinabandhu Baral allowed the police to hold the suspects for further investigation. The group is accused of being involved in a human trafficking ring that forged documents to send young people to Japan under false pretenses.
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The detained individuals include Dawa Sherpa, Janak Rai, Kanchan Devkota, Mahesh Pandey, Bir Bahadur Sunar, Jugal Rijal, Guddi Rai, Nabin Rai, and Lila Ballab Adhikari. They are under investigation for human smuggling and document forgery, allegedly aimed at sending youth to Japan illegally.
According to police, Dawa Sherpa, 36, Janak Rai, 38, and Kanchan Devkota , 22, traveled to Japan on a Cathay Pacific flight on October 27 along with the former minister, but were turned back by Japanese immigration officials from Tokyo airport. Upon further investigation, it was found that Mahesh Pande, 34, Bir Bahadur Sunar, 30, and Jugal Rijal, 23, were the middlemen who helped organize the fake documentation with the help of the former minister.
The District Police Range Kathmandu is conducting a thorough investigation under the Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act, 2064.
