August 7, 2025

Following tighter security at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), human traffickers have started using India’s Bagdogra Airport (West Bengal) and Singapore’s Changi Airport to send Nepali women abroad on visit visas, a manpower agent revealed.

Due to increased restrictions and monitoring at Nepal’s international airport, it has become more difficult for traffickers to use direct flights from Nepal. In response, traffickers have been rerouting victims through Siliguri to Bagdogra or flying them out via Singapore, depending on feasibility and cost.

However, stricter surveillance by the Nepali Embassy in India has led to the arrest of agents attempting to smuggle individuals out through Indian airports. Over 100 Nepalis have been detained in the past month alone while trying to travel illegally on visit visas via Indian airports. “As it has become increasingly difficult from Nepal’s airports, traffickers are now using whichever route is easier — sometimes via Delhi, sometimes via Bagdogra,” one manpower operator explained. “Those willing to pay more are even being routed through Singapore’s Changi Airport.”

Last Wednesday, 47 Nepali women who were being trafficked via the Delhi route were rescued from Indira Gandhi International Airport and repatriated to Nepal. Although they were originally being sent through Bagdogra, their tickets were for Delhi, where they were intercepted. Authorities also found No Objection Certificates (NOCs) prepared for Kolkata Airport among the group, some of which had been destroyed in an attempt to hide evidence.

According to the Nepal Police’s Human Trafficking Control Bureau, investigations have been launched based on complaints filed by 19 out of the 47 rescued women at the Kathmandu District Court.

The rescue operation was coordinated by the Nepal Police and the Nepali Embassy in Delhi, following suspicions of visit visa misuse for trafficking purposes. This comes after the Ministry of Home Affairs initiated reforms at TIA’s immigration office in response to rising concerns over trafficking.

Now, with tighter airport controls, traffickers are increasingly relying on alternative international routes. According to the bureau, trafficking rings based in Dubai and Delhi are actively misusing visit visas and adjusting their flight routes accordingly.

In several cases, traffickers have taken large sums of money from individuals under the pretense of facilitating employment opportunities in Gulf countries, only to abandon or exploit them. In response, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has carried out raids and investigations into corrupt officials suspected of aiding such activities.

Visit visa abuse has become a major concern, as many Nepalis travel abroad in search of work or a better life but end up victims of forced labor or trafficking under the guise of legal travel. The trend has sparked widespread public and institutional criticism.