Himal Press 
POKHARA: Police have arrested 16 women from Lakeside, a major tourist area in Pokhara, on charges of harassing domestic and foreign tourists at night, as well as involvement in robbery and immoral activities.
A police team deployed from the District Police Office (DPO), Kaski, and the Ward Police Office, Baidam, conducted a raid in the Lakeside area between 12:30 am and 2:00 am on Saturday.
According to Police Inspector Ganesh Pandey, acting information officer at the DPO Kaski, the women were found luring tourists with various inducements, harassing them unnecessarily, engaging in robbery, and participating in immoral activities.
Six to seven are repeat offenders. Police are preparing to file public offence cases against them. Some detainees, who are under 18, have been sent to a rehabilitation centre at Bharatpokhari in Pokhara-33, according to Pandey.
“Others have been released on date or handed over to their guardians after counselling,” DSP Namaraj Bhattarai, chief of the Ward Police Office, Baidam.
Police say most of the arrested women would approach tourists and seek to indulge in physical relations in exchange for money. “In some cases, they would take money up front for such relations but fled upon reaching near hotels,” Bhattarai said. “Illegal activities in and around the Lakeside area have declined since I took charge of the Ward Police Office, Baidam.”
Bhattarai added that police have initiated a campaign to make the Lakeside area free from anomalies and disturbances by taking action against those disrupting peace and order, harassing tourists, and openly engaging in prostitution.
