Two Nepali teenagers, aged 15 and 16, who were stranded in New Delhi, India, have been rescued and reunited with their families in Bhairahawa. The girls, residents of Shahid Municipality-4 in Dhanusha, were handed over to their relatives at the Rupandehi District Administration Office on Saturday.

The rescue was carried out through a collaborative effort between Afanta Nepal, a Nepal-based organisation working against human trafficking, and Afanta India Foundation, its counterpart in India.

The teenagers had reportedly left their homes to meet an unknown Indian woman they had contacted on TikTok. However, upon reaching Delhi, the woman became unreachable, leaving the girls stranded at the New Delhi Railway Station.

“We acted promptly after receiving information from Indian police about two Nepali girls found in a vulnerable state at the railway station,” said Manav Shrestha, a rescue officer at Afanta India Foundation. “Considering the potential risks of trafficking and exploitation, they were safely brought back to Nepal and handed over to their families.”

In a related case, a teenage boy from Kamala Municipality-3 in Dhanusha who was also found stranded in Delhi was handed over to his family following legal procedures.

The organisations involved in the rescue emphasised the importance of vigilance in preventing similar incidents, particularly involving social media platforms.