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Catwalk cat charged with trafficking
KATHMANDU, AUG 19 -
Anita Nakarmi wanted to be a professional beautician. To pursue this dream of hers, she sold her beauty parlour in Kathmandu and boarded a flight to Singapore to enroll in a beautician course there.
Nakarmi paid Rs. 800,000 to Ramita Bhandari, a model-turned-dancer who happened to be her relative, hoping that she would get herself admitted to a prestigious beautician training school in Singapore.
Nakarmi's dreams were shattered when she found out that she was instead taken there to work in dance restaurants and brothels.
“Bhandari started forcing me to work in a dance restaurant,” Nakarmi said. “When I refused, she started misbehaving with me.”
“I had never thought Bhandari, who is my close relative, will do such a thing to me. Many other Nepali girls are trapped there,” Nakarmi said. She found that Bhandari was a member of a trafficking racket whose job was to lure Nepali girls to Singapore and then force them into prostitution.
Bhandari and her associates, who are also said to be into prostitution, used to get commission from owners of the dance bars and brothels.
When her visa expired, Nakarmi was compelled to return to Nepal. But her sad story does not end there. Nakarmi was taken straight to Bhandari's house at Gwarko after her arrival in Nepal where she was kept as a hostage for over two months.
She was not allowed to contact her family members and friends. Bhandari again promised that she would take her to Singapore and help her find a job. Bhandari even beat her up when she demanded money.
Eventually, Nakarmi decided to come out of their clutches and sought her family's help.
Based on her complaint, police arrested Bhandari, her boyfriend and another dancer Sabbu Shah. Sabbu was later released after investigation found her innocent.
However, following the arrest, she is receiving threats, Nakarmi claimed. “I have been receiving anonymous calls with threats to me and my family members' life.”
On Thursday, Nakarmi lodged a complaint seeking security from the police.
According to her brother Ajay Tuladhar, Bhandari's family members have also been exerting pressure on her family to withdraw the charges. Nakarmi said she will not withdraw the same.
Police said Bhandari will be booked under the anti-trafficking law.
Posted on: 2010-08-20 08:30
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