The Kathmandu Metropolitan Police Range Kathmandu along with Maiti Nepal and Child Workers in Nepal Concerned Centre (CWIN) rescued 39 under-age girls from different dance bars on Wednesday night.

The joint team had raided different restaurants and dance bars and rescued 14 girls from Gongabu, 11 from Balaju, 9 from New Baneshwor, 3 from Thamel and 2 from Koteshwor.

The raids were carried out in Bebo Dance Bar of Thamel; Riverside Dance Restaurant, Rock Dance Bar, Civila Dance Restaurant, Debit Fall Dance Restaurant and Stage Dance Bar of Gongabu; and Tiger Top Restaurant and Bar and New Town Restaurant and Bar of New Baneshwor.

Police also arrested the dance bar owners Dawa Lama, Ser Bahadur Tamang, Bijay Singh Lama, Asta Tamang, Sishir Rai, Daya Ram Tatala, Suman Shrestha and Bipin Shrestha. DSP Mohan Kumar Thapa said the Kathmandu District Court on Thursday remanded the arrested dance bar owners to five days custody for investigation. He said that the rescued girls were forced by their employers to engage in illicit activities, some were even beaten. Thirty-two of the rescued girls were taken in by Maiti Nepal and the remaining seven girls were put under the care of CWIN for psychological counselling.