DISTRICT ATTORNEY - NEW YORK COUNTY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - April 25, 2012
CONTACT: Erin Duggan 212-335-9400

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the arrest and indictment of HIT SHRESTHA, 44, a Nepalese national, for systematically defrauding other Nepalese nationals of thousands of dollars. SHRESTHA is charged with Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree and Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree for falsely promising her victims that she would arrange for their family members from Nepal to immigrate to the United States, and for charging her victims large fees for the promised service.

Monday, April 2, 2012
A Nepali immigrant worker who was subjected to abuse, fraud, and egregious labor violations at the hands of his former employer, Long Island Indian fusion restaurant Masala Wok & Grill, announced the filing of his complaint against the restaurant and its owners, Shivaji Pathak and "Tony Malik" in New York Supreme Court. The worker, Rabin Kumar Biswokarma, is represented by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) and is a member of Adhikaar, a Woodside-based human rights group.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Luna Ranjit, 917.656.7442, luna@adhikaar.org

VICTORY AT LAST: JUDGE RECOMMENDS TRAFFICKED DOMESTIC WORKER IS OWED $1.5 MILLION!

Woodside, NY - On February 22, 2012, Magistrate Judge Frank Maas ruled that Adhikaar member Shanti Gurung was owed close to $1.5 million by her former employers Neena and Jogesh Malhotra who trafficked her from India to New York.  

Shanti Gurung was 17 years old in 2006 when the Malhotras brought her to New York with the promise of paying 5,000 Indian rupees (approx. $100) per month to do light cooking and few chores. Instead, she regularly worked 16 hours each day, and worked longer when there were parties. She cooked, cleaned, did laundry and grocery shopping, and gave massages. At the end of her long day's work, she had to sleep on the living room floor, even though there were empty bedrooms in the apartment. For more than three years of work, Shanti received only a one-time payment of 5,500 rupees (less than $120), and small tips from the Malhotra's guests during parties. The Malhotras confiscated her passport and told her that if she tried to go anywhere by herself, the police would beat her, rape her and send her back to India. 

May 27, 2011
Woodside, NY While over 100 million people worldwide work as domestic workers, their rights as workers have often been ignored. That could soon change. On May 28, Adhikaar is joining the delegation of domestic workers from the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) to join workers from around the world traveling to Geneva as part of the International Domestic Workers Network (IDWN) to create international law for Decent Work for Domestic Workers.

For Immediate Release
April 6, 2011

Woodside, NY: The South Asian Summit kicked off on Friday, April 1, 2011 with a ChangeMaker award reception to recognize individuals and organizations that have made a significant impact on social justice. Adhikaar co-founder and Executive Director Luna Ranjit was honored as one of the 2011 Changemakers. Luna shared a story about an Adhikaar member who was brought to the US by her employers as a domestic worker, and had gone from being isolated for two decades to campaigning for the New York Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. "That is the change we are working for at Adhikaar," she said, "transforming individuals, strengthening our community, and changing policies."