E-Paper
Another Jagraon woman held captive in Oman returns
Ludhiana rural police have booked three people after she alleged that she was held captive in Oman and then asked to pay ₹1.50 lakh to get her passport back
Strap: Says she was asked to pay ₹1.50 lakh to get passport back; Zira travel agent among 3 booked
Another Jagraon woman managed to return home from Oman after escaping from the clutches of human traffickers. The Ludhiana rural police have booked three people after she alleged that she was held captive in Oman and then asked to pay ₹1.50 lakh to get her passport back.
The accused held her captive for 15 days. They also took away her passport and demanded ₹1.50 lakh in cash to return the same.
The woman managed to escape from their clutches and approached the Indian embassy in Oman. The embassy officials issued her a white passport and sent her back to India.
After returning home, the woman filed a complaint against the accused, including a woman travel agent. The accused have been identified as Jaspal Kaur who is a travel agent from Zira, Albaksh, a native of Bengaluru, and Mohammed Hisam of Oman. It is the second such incident in the past six days. Earlier, on May 30, 26-year-old woman of Dholan village, who had escaped from the clutches of the human traffickers, had lodged an FIR against the accused.
In her complaint to the police, the Jagraon woman said that she is a Class 10 pass out. As she did not find a suitable job here, she decided to go abroad to work. She had come in contact with Jaspal Kaur of Zira, who assured her to find a job for her in Dubai. In May 2022, Jaspal came to her home and offered a job of domestic help in Oman.
The woman demanded ₹1.50 lakh in cash for sending her abroad, out of which she took ₹25,000 in advance.
The complainant added that in July 2022, she took a flight from Delhi to Oman. Albaksh received her in Oman, who took her to a company named Golden Great Lakes operated by Mohammed Hisam. She stayed there for 8 to 9 days. They further sent her to someone’s house to work. She worked there for three months but received the salary for two months only. They said that they had given her one month’s salary to Hisam as his commission.
“When I refused to work without getting the salary, they sent me back to Hisam, who sent me to another house to work. When I asked him to clear my dues, the accused held me captive. He demanded ₹1.50 lakh to return my passport,” said the woman.
“I managed to escape from his clutches and reached the Indian embassy. I stayed in a gurdwara for a few days. Later, the embassy issued me a white passport and sent me back to India on June 2,” she added.
After reaching here she filed a complaint with the police. Ludhiana senior superintendent of police (SSP rural) Navneet Singh Bains said that an FIR under Sections 420, 370 and 120-B of the IPC and Section 13 of the Punjab Travel Professional Regulation Act was registered against the accused at Jagraon Sadar police station.
He added that the police will arrest all the accused. They are targeting women on the pretext of good income and later force them to work as domestic help on low salary.
