Bengaluru, Feb 22: Thanks to joint efforts by the Protector of Emigrants in Bengaluru and Indian Embassy in Qatar, a 26-year-old woman from Karnataka who had been kept in confinement in Qatar has been rescued and brought back to India.
Anupama (name changed) from Holenarasipura in Hassan district arrived in Bengaluru on Thursday night. She was allegedly locked up in a house for 14 days, restrained from using a mobile and wasn't fed. There were three other women with her. On the midnight of February 12, they broke the window panes and fled before contacting local police.
Anupama, a diploma graduate in computer science, was jobless and her friend working in Kuwait suggested she try for a job abroad. She contacted an agency based in Chikkamagaluru which offered her a nanny's job in Qatar. After document verification, the agency demanded she pay Rs 2 lakh but she said she didn't have that kind of money.
The agency sent Anupama on a visitor visa but told her if questioned by immigration officials, she must claim she was visiting her sister. They also gave her a return ticket.
As Anupama was travelling abroad for the first time, she said she was ignorant about several things.
On January 12, Anupama left Bengaluru. But as she reached Qatar, all her documents, including passport, were confiscated by the agency. Her return ticket was cancelled and she was sent to a house to work as babysitter-cum-cook for Rs 30,000. She lived with four other maids in the same house, where they were made to work for 16-18 hours a day.
"I used to wake up around 5.30am every day and had to prepare breakfast for the employers by 6.30am. My work would end around 11pm every day. We never even got time to eat," Anupama told media on Friday. Four days into work, Anupama's nose started bleeding. However, the employers cared little and insisted she continue to work. After 18 days, she requested her employers that she be relieved.
The agency sent her to a house where three women were already present and locked her up with them. "They used to give us a glass of raw rice, an onion, tomato and potato to cook for ourselves. While we got rice every day, we had to use the vegetables for three days. We were not supposed to use mobiles or go out. Two people were monitoring us," she recalled.
Anupama and the others decided to approach police but for that they needed to escape. Around 1.30am on February 12, the four women managed to break window panes and jumped out. They ran for more than a kilometre and managed to approach police, who summoned the agency and got the women to speak to their families.
Anupama called her brother-in-law, who approached the Protector of Emigrants office in Koramangala, Bengaluru. Shubham Singh, PoE in Bengaluru, said they took up the issue with the Indian Embassy in Qatar, which immediately got in touch with Qatar police. Anupama said, "We were kept in prison for a couple of days and were sent to the deportation centre later."
Meanwhile, the Indian embassy got the agency to return the women's documents. However, the agents did not pay their salaries. Two of the women were sent to Hyderabad and the third to Kerala. On Friday, Anupama met Singh at his office, where her statement was recorded. "We have started the process of initiating action against the agency in India," he said.
Comments
Be good to believers and non believers.
Only your good characters can attract others. Not your bad attitudes.
So, be good to all.
Our Hindu brothers, know about Islam and they like it. One day, they will come embrace Islam. Islam is natural way of living.
When the girl from Non-hindu family married a Hindu man, she was not accepted in Hindu Community.
They dont want someone to join Hindu religion and also they dont let someone join other religion.
what kind of mentality. Within Hindu community, they dont treat all Hindus equally, A lot of grades, upper, medium, lower, lowest..... 1000 grades.
Is it religion of God. This nothing but Moking the God.
So they have taken the right step, to join Islam which is the real religion, where every teaching goes with science. There is no superstition.
Equal treatment to all and no discrimination between anyone.
What is religion. Religion is set of commands to be successful come from the God, who is the wisest.
Remember a religion can not be a religion if it contradicts science.
The Islam religion is a full of guidance how to live in this world .
It is teaching how to be successful and after the death which is the permenent life for ever (after the death).
Alhamdulillah! Allahu akbar .. let allah give hidayath to all commented brothers and sisters
They just forced to do that. Media hiding the facts
When Modi rules, these things wont amuse people
Foolishness. They jumped from small pothole to deepest well of trap
Fake news.. propaganda
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