2 Punjab women stranded in Muscat return home

Two women from Punjab, who were stuck in Muscat, reached home on Wednesday morning after complaining of ill-treatment from their employers. Rajya Sabha member Balbir Singh Seechewal has urged the External Affairs Minister to draft a policy for stricter action against travel agents duping gullible girls.

Two women from Punjab, who were stuck in Muscat, reached home on Wednesday morning.

One of the women said she went on a tourist visa to Muscat three months ago after her aunt promised her of helping to get a job. (File Photo)

Rajya Sabha member Balbir Singh Seechewal had recently approached the Ministry Of External Affairs after the two victims reached out to him and complained of ill-treatment from their employers. One of the women said she went on a tourist visa to Muscat three months ago after her aunt promised her of helping to get a job.

“I was offered a job as a house maid. I went on a one day tourist visa but the travel agents in Muscat took my passport and made me do odd jobs without being paid for two months,” she said. Another victim from Fatehgarh Sahib said her relative lured her with a job of ₹ 35,000 per month following which she went to Muscat on a tourist visa. “After being employed, I was neither paid for my work nor allowed to step outside the house,” she said. Seechewal has urged the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to draft a policy for stricter action against travel agents duping gullible girls by taking advantage of their poverty.