NEW DELHI: Yamuna (name changed), 25, who came to Delhi some two months back in pursuit of a bright future, now leads a dejected life. The agent’s assurances of sending her abroad for a handsome salary is nowhere to be fulfilled.

Hailing from Gorkha district, Yamuna had earlier returned to Nepal after working as a housemaid in Saudi Arabia. She was looking for an abroad employment opportunity since she could not go back to Saudi Arabia again. It was then she came in contact with Rabi Gautam, an agent from Gorkha.

Dilli Maya (name changed), 28, who hails from Morang, too has a similar story to share. Dilli Maya said that Lalita Magar, an agent, ‘dumped’ her in Manipur three months ago.

Gautam assured her of higher pay in Dubai compared to Saudi Arabia. Convinced with the assurances, she accompanied him to New Delhi with the hope of flying to Dubai. However, upon landing in Delhi, her hopes of reaching the destination are shattering gradually.

“I handed over Rs. 75 thousand to him (Gautam) who promised me that he would send me to Dubai in 15 days. It’s been already two months now and he is nowhere to been seen,” complained Yamuna over a chat from JB Road in New Delhi. She is panicked to learn that she has been deceived after she learned that Gautam has gone missing. She has earlier entered India in a group of some 17 women via Birgunj.

Dilli Maya (name changed), 28, who hails from Morang, too has a similar story to share. Dilli Maya said that Lalita Magar, an agent, ‘dumped’ her in Manipur three months ago.

“Promising me of a decent job in Macau, she (Magar) asked me to pay Rs.2,680,000 as her fee. She has gone missing now,” she lamented.

Another lady, Dilli Maya, who has been duped by an agent, too, recounts her afflictions saying despite frequenting to the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi, she has not been able to get a way out. She said since she has no ‘guts’ to return home empty-handed, she has started working at a local tire company.

Alisa (name changed), 26, from Pokhara too was duped in a similar way. Arjun KC, an agent from Pokhara, lured her of sending to the UK for a cultural program on a tourist visa. “He then took me to Delhi saying that applying for a visa to the UK would be easier from Delhi, and air tickets cheaper,” she told Khabarhub.

Currently, she has been staying at her relative’s house in New Delhi after her agent went missing.

These are some of the representative cases. A significant number of Nepali women are undergoing similar fate in various Indian cities. An investigation by Khabarhub had earlier revealed that some 4,000 Nepali youths, lured by agents, are languishing in different parts of the Indian capital. Of these, 500 are women.

“The issue of human trafficking under the cover of foreign employment is increasing at an alarming rate. The government needs to take it seriously, and act on time,” said Raj Kumar Silwal, Deputy Superintendent of Police.

Aspiring workers continue to be cheated in the name of foreign employment mainly due to the fact that the Foreign Employment Act 2007 lacks stringent punitive measures.