Six more boys ‘rescued’ from Nepal amid trafficking probe
The matter came to light after two minor boys fled the Kathmandu institution and returned to their homes in Rangamati village under the Pandavir panchayat, located in the Chaibasa Mufassil police station (PS) area, on December 7. Nepal Police later caught four more boys fleeing from the Bhaktapur institution.
A special investigation team (SIT) of the West Singhbhum police and the district administration brought back six more minor boys from the Namo Buddha Meditation and Educational Institution in Nepal’s Kathmandu, where they were allegedly trafficked on the pretext of good education but were forced into physical labour and subjected to stringent punishment, police said on Friday.
With this, the total number of minor boys returning or brought back from Nepal has risen to 12 out of the 27 children taken to the Nepal-based institution on November 11, 2025.
The matter came to light after two minor boys fled the Kathmandu institution and returned to their homes in Rangamati village under the Pandavir panchayat, located in the Chaibasa Mufassil police station (PS) area, on December 7. Nepal Police later caught four more boys fleeing from the Bhaktapur institution. They sent them back to West Singhbhum through an NGO and social worker Divya Lama Tamang, who is associated with the Kathmandu-based Namo Buddha Meditation and Educational Institution, on December 10, police said.
“We have rescued and brought back six minor children from the Namo Buddha Meditation and Educational Institution in Bhaktapur (Kathmandu), Nepal, on Thursday. The West Singhbhum deputy commissioner (DC) and superintendent of police (SP) had formed a special team after two minor boys from Rangamati village under the Chaibasa Mufassil police station (PS) area somehow returned home on December 7. On December 9, 32-year-old Saluka Boipai lodged a complaint with the police alleging that his son and 10 other boys were lured to Kathmandu in the name of good education and sold off there. The team went to Nepal and brought back six of the 11 boys from Rangamati village in coordination with Nepal authorities,” Bahman Tuti, Chaibasa Sadar sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), told HT on Friday.
“However, the parents of the remaining 15 minor boys from other villages want their sons to stay at the Bhaktapur institution and have given a written undertaking to this effect. A case (05/25) has been registered against two named accused from Rangamati village, Munda Ram Jonko and Narayan Kandeyang, under sections 143(1), 143(5), 137(1)(a) and 61 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) in the matter,” added Tuti, who is leading the SIT.
Chaibasa Sadar circle officer (CO) Upendra Kumar, a member of the SIT, said their investigation in Nepal found no religious conversion in the matter. “We have brought back six children, and the remaining 15 boys are staying back as per the wishes of their parents,” Kumar told HT on Friday.
Contacted by HT, Divya Lama Tamang rubbished all allegations against the Bhaktapur institution and insisted that none of the boys were taken there without the prior permission of their parents.
“This institute is a Buddhist monastery-and-education centre based on the concept and legacy of Nalanda University. It has 68 centres across the world—in Europe, the United States and South Asia, among others. 350 students from various countries, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and a few other Indian states study here. We are also trying to bring two Hindi teachers from India. Education up to the graduation level, from Class 1, is imparted here, following which willing students can pursue postgraduate and PhD studies in Buddhist philosophy. Afterwards, many get lucrative jobs in several countries, but we do not give any job guarantee in the admission brochure,” Divya Lama Tamang told HT over the phone on Friday.
She said there was no question of luring any child by promising jobs or anything else, and that there was neither any conversion attempt nor forced labour.
“We take admissions of children in the age group of 7–11 years, but on persistent requests, we took these 27 boys, many of whom were above 11 years of age. Education and accommodation for the full 21-year course at the Namo Buddha Meditation and Educational Institution are free of cost. Only ₹3,000 is taken for uniforms and ₹3,500 for a full-body medical check-up at the time of admission. Affidavits from the parents of 15 boys reached us today, expressing their keenness that their children be allowed to continue staying at the monastery. The first two boys who fled were aged 13–15 years, while the four others were aged 12–13 years. The remaining boys are aged 7–11 years,” Divya said.