‘Sold’ Bhutanese boy recovered in Kashmir

SRINAGAR - The crime branch of the Jammu and Kashmir Police Thursday evening recovered a Bhutanese boy in Srinagar whose parents had complained to the Indian external affairs ministry that their son had been kidnapped and sold to a local in Srinagar.

Interpol, acting on the representation made by the parents, had flashed a notice to the crime branch regarding the kidnapped boy.

The sleuths of crime branch, promptly acting on this notice swung into action and recovered the boy from the premises of one Mohammad Iqbal Zahgeer at Gosiya Colony Khanyar (Srinagar), who had hired the boy from an agent namely Konul Bashikarma of West Bengal.

The boy shall be handed over to his parents through diplomatic channels.

The people of the Valley, over the last few years, have developed a tendency of hiring young foreign boys and girls, particularly from Nepal and Bhutan, and then employing them in domestic and other business related activities without actually knowing their backgrounds,” a statement issued by the crime branch said.

This is a dangerous trend and many people land in unnecessary trouble even to the extent of facing criminal litigations as it has been noticed that sometimes these foreign youngsters are kidnapped from their respective places and subsequently pushed into the Valley by human traffickers for monetary considerations, the statement added.