A total of 453 Nepali nationals have been rescued from Kushinagar in India’s Uttar Pradesh after being held in what authorities describe as a fraudulent networking-based trafficking racket.

The rescue operation was conducted on Friday by Rupandehi Police with support from Indian authorities. The rescued individuals were brought back to Nepal on Saturday. The coordinated effort involved Nepal Police units from Lumbini Province and Rupandehi District Police, based on information that Nepali youths were being kept in coercive conditions.

According to police, individuals from different districts in Nepal were taken to India after being promised attractive jobs and high earnings. They were transported via the Sunauli border to Kushinagar, where they were allegedly confined and subjected to financial exploitation.

Rupandehi Police chief Janak Bahadur Shahi said information indicated that at least 1,000 Nepali youths from Lumbini, Koshi and Sudurpaschim provinces had been taken to the area. “Based on the information, we tracked the location and carried out the rescue with the support of Indian police,” he said, adding that further investigation is underway.

Police said the group involved collected between INR 7,000 and up to INR 100,000 per person under the guise of membership fees linked to a network marketing-style scheme. Victims were reportedly trained and then pressured to recruit others, creating a pyramid-style structure. Those who were unable to recruit were allegedly threatened, including pressure placed on their families for additional payments.

Deputy Superintendent of Police at Area Police Office Butwal, Nishant Shrivastava, said a complaint from victims’ families led to an initial inquiry. “After four days of continuous coordination with Uttar Pradesh Police and support from chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s office, we were able to rescue the victims,” he said.

He added that some groups handled training of recruits, while others focused on collecting membership fees and expanding the network.

All rescued individuals were transported to Nepal in eight Indian buses and are currently being kept at the District Police Office in Bhairahawa. Police said the victims will be handed over to their families after verification, while efforts are underway to identify those behind the operation.

The Nepal Embassy in India also confirmed the rescue in a post on X, stating that 453 Nepalis trapped in a fraudulent networking scheme under false job promises had been repatriated through coordination between Nepali and Indian authorities.