Increase in disappearance of women and children in Darchula

Darchula: 204 women and children have gone missing in the last four years in Darchula. The number of missing women and children has increased in Darchula, which borders India. According to the Women and Children's Cell of the District Police Office of Darchula, 150 women and children have returned home and 52 have not been found yet.

Among the missing from the district are 126 women and 35 children, according to the Women and Children Service Center of Darchula. According to the Women and Children Service Center of Darchula, 20 women, five boys and six girls have gone missing in the fiscal year 2073 BS - 2074 BS. Of the missing, only 32 women and children have been found. 

Similarly, out of 33 women and children missing in the fiscal year 2074/75 BS, only 29 were found, said Police Inspector Bhaskar Chand of District Police Office, Darchula. Four women and children have not been found yet. In the fiscal year 2075/76, 35 women have gone missing from the district while 10 boys and 19 girls have gone missing while 13 women and two boys and four girls are yet to be found.

Similarly, 39 women, 14 boys and nine girls were missing in the fiscal year 2076/77 BS. According to the police, only 44 people were found. According to the District Police Office, Darchula, 27 more are yet to be found. According to the District Police Office, Women and Children Service Center of Darchula, two women went missing in July alone. According to the District Police Office of Darchula, police units across the country have been informed to search for the missing women and children.

Some of the missing women and children have returned home. According to the police, the police conducted a search on the basis of the information provided by the parents and some even returned home on their own. Police estimate that most of the missing women have volunteered to establish a marital relationship.

 According to the police, the family has been suffering from mental and physical stress after disappearing from the house, school, shop and firewood without leaving the family unaccounted for. According to the District Police Office of Darchula, women and children are forced to leave their homes due to poverty, lack of care, alcohol abuse and family problems.

Due to the open border with India in Darchula, there is a situation of people entering and disappearing in India. Gauri Badal, a human rights activist, says that many women and children who go to India for work, get married and are exploited. "We are not sure where they went because of the open border," she said. "Even if someone comes back, they do not inform the police that they have returned home."

In Darchula, India has legal checkpoints at Lali of Lekam, Joljivi of Malikarjun, Khalanga of Dattu district headquarters of Mahakali municipality and Tigaram and Sitapul of Beas village.