The district court in Makwanpur has slapped 20 year jail term to three persons for trafficking a pregnant woman to a brothel in India. Among those convicted is also the husband of the woman.

Convicting the trio of selling the woman in India 23 years ago, a single bench of district court judge Tek Narayan Kunwar on October 9 also fined Rs 2 lakh each to the victim's husband Sita Ram Thing, 38, of Manhari3, Shyam Bahadur Bomjan, 54, and Sashi Kumar Titung, 53, of Padampokhari1. The court has asked the government to provide 50 percent of the fine equivalent to 1 lakh each from the rehabilitation fund to the victim on behalf of the convicts citing their weak economic condition.

Thing had taken the girl of Manhari3 to Kathmandu to work in a carpet factory six months later after marrying her. She was then taken to India in October 1989 in the pretense that job was not available in Kathmandu.

Shyam Bahadur, Shashi Kumar and her husband then sold her in a brothel in India for Rs 50,000. She was 5 months pregnant at that time. She gave birth to her son at the brothel.

Her son is 23-year-old now and lives in Nuwakot.

The women who stayed in the brothel for 15 years was expelled after she transmitted HIV virus. She had worked as a domestic help for seven years after that. She returned back to Manhari on April 3, 2012 through Gorakhpur with support from a woman.

She filed a case against her husband at the district police office in Hetauda with support from Maiti Nepal on April 4.

Police had arrested Sitaram from Jayamangal in RatnaN.P.13 of Chitwan following her complaint the next day. Shyam Bahadur and Shashi Kumar were arrested on the basis of Sitaram's statement.

The victim who was 16-year-old when she was sold in India is 38 now. She is currently living in her maternal home in Manhari.