Kathmandu: As many as 16 Nepali children who were precariously taken to the Uttar Pradesh of India have been rescued.

Regional Coordinator of Shanti Rehabilitation Home in Nepalgunj, Bhumi Bhattarai informed that the boy children were rescued from child homes based in Gonda and Siddharthanagar of India and brought back to Nepal on Wednesday on collaborative efforts of Shanti Rehabilitation Home Nepal and Deharadun-based Help Cross Organization.

“The Indian security personnel had held the children, who were taken to India via interior entry point of Rupandehi risking their lives, from the Railway Station of Gorakhpur, India. 10 days ago”, coordinator Bhattarai shared.

Among the rescued were 10 from Nuwakot, five from Rasuwa and one from Kailali. Most of them are aged below 12. The rescued children were taken back to Nepal, he said, adding necessary legal process was arranged and consent was taken from the Child Welfare Committee Settlement in Uttar Pradesh.

The rescued children would be handed over to the parents in coordination with the Crime Investigation Bureau of Nepal. Though the children were rescued successfully, those involved in taking the children to India have yet to be identified, the police said. RSS