Human traffickers have kept themselves busy in quake-affected villages in the district looking for the opportunity to traffic women and human organs, sources said. A quake-hit villager from Hokse said the traffickers approach locals offering ‘helps’. “They make several phone calls to find quake-hit people in need. They may be active here knowing that people are facing problems after the April 25 earthquake,” he said. It is learnt that Manoj Raut of Panauti-9 is involved in providing fake documents, even Nepali citizenship certificates to his targets. Another trafficker is also active in finding quake-hit people in Kavre and Sindhupalchok. He is said to have rented a room in Panchkhal to supply women to a network of brokers. Around 200 people in Kavre are said to have sold their kidneys in the black market. Some families in Hokse, Panchkhal, Baluwa, Jyamdi, Jaishithok, Kharelthok, Koshidekha, Sathighar and Bhagawati, among other villages, still rely on the sale of their kidneys for their livelihood. According to a source, brokers who were freed on bail have started their illegal activities of late.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Raj Kumar KC said they are vigilant against organ trafficking in the district. “We have established temporary check-posts at Kavrebhanjyang and Banepa to control such activities after the quake,” DSP KC said. Traffickers lure young women to India and other countries promising lucrative jobs and then supply them to brothels. Of the 38 people who went missing after the quake in the district, police have rescued 10 women and two boys and handed them over to their parents. The whereabouts of the others is still unknown. Mayalu Tamang, an NGO worker, said children and women are more vulnerable to trafficking after the disaster. “We are creating awareness against human trafficking and unsafe migration,” she said.