Nepal Police have rescued a teenage girl, who had been taken to New Delhi, India for human sacrifice, from the hands of human traffickers and brought her back to Nepal. Police have arrested six people in connection with the trafficking of the minor girl.

The Anti-Human Trafficking Bureau (AHTB) informed that the 16-year-old girl, who was allegedly being sold in a bid to sacrifice her life as per some tantric religious practice on the full moon day, has been rescued with the help of rights organisations in India.

According to the preliminary investigation, the minor girl came from an underprivileged family of Dhading district and was staying at her maternal uncle’s house with nobody else to take care of her after her parents got divorced.

A missing complaint was filed by the girl’s relatives on December 21 after she went missing from her maternal uncle’s home on December 3.

“Before bringing the girl to India for sacrifice in the cult’s religious ceremonies, the girl’s weight, height, scars on her body, tattoos and whether or not she has menstruated were tested,” said Bureau Director Senior Superintendent of Police Jeevan Kumar Shrestha.

Upon finding that she fulfilled the criteria, the girl was taken to various tantric babas where she had to stay for some days to prove she was fit for the ritual for over two months.

The traffickers had lured the girl saying that she would only have to appease the baba and in exchange, she will get immense money. Owing to poverty and lack of parental love, the minor girl agreed to go with the traffickers hoping to make a quick buck but she had no clue about their intention.

“The girl was taken to three tantric babas before she was delivered to the main tantric who would most probably kill her in the name of god or black magic,” Shrestha said.

After the rescue, the girl has been placed in the care of a social organization.