A bench of Judge Kul Prasad Sharma on Wednesday ordered that Sherpa and Hee be sent to judicial custody on the charge of running a human trafficking racket under the veil of running an international marriage firm. According to district court registrar Shree Prasad Sanjel, the bench ordered release of other accused including Bipin Nagarkoti, Sunita Lama and Sunil Lama on bail. The district court has ordered the three to deposit bails of Rs 100,000 each.The Central Bureau of Investigation (CIB) of Nepal Police on March 3 had held Sherpa, 52, the operator of Chheru International Marriage Bureau Pvt Ltd, after raiding various marriage firms in Kathmandu along with his driver Nagarkoti.
Taking advantage of administrative lapses and legal loopholes, Sherpa used to trap foreign job aspirant girls and women and would arrange court marriages for them with Chinese citizens. Following the court marriages, the girls and women would be sent to China, where many of them would be subjected to physical and mental exploitation.
Sherpa was arrested as a special source tipped off the police bureau. Police had arrested Park, 61, a Korean hotel operator working as an agent to find husbands for the girls.
According to CIB Spokesperson SP Kiran Bajracharya, the Lama couple was arrested as victims and Nagarkoti recorded statements claiming the couple's involvement in the racket.
The information about the rackets surfaced after a victim, Sangita (name changed), a 19-year-old management student originally from Parbat district, was rescued by her family from China.
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