BENGALURU: The office of the Protector of Emigrants (PoE) in Bengaluru has rescued five women who were sent overseas illegally by unregistered foreign recruitment agencies since it became operational on December 3, 2019. The office of the PoE, which is in the process of identifying unregistered foreign recruitment agencies in Karnataka and Goa, has received complaints from 20 prospective migrants from Karnataka who have been cheated by illegal placement agencies. “We have resolved 15 complaints and recovered Rs 1.2 lakh from them, which has been handed back to the complainants,” said Protector of Emigrants (PoE), Bengaluru, Shubham Singh.
“We have closed down two illegal overseas placement agencies in Bengaluru and Mangaluru and a website that was advertising illegal agencies,” he added.There are only 14 registered foreign recruitment agencies in Karnataka compared to 798 in Maharashtra (of which 751 are in Mumbai), 268 in Delhi and 237 in Kerala, Singh said.
“There maybe several illegal overseas recruitment agencies operating in Karnataka which need to be tracked down and closed for the safety of our people. We are soliciting media help in spreading awareness on such placement agencies and the presence of PoE office in Karnataka. Unregistered agencies are illegal and are trapping gullible people, who, without verifying their credentials, approach them for jobs overseas. Once they reach their destination they are exploited,” said the IFS officer.
Among the five women, who were rescued by the PoE, Bengaluru through the Indian missions overseas were a mother-daughter duo. “They were sent to Kuwait by some bogus agency in Chennai in September last year. They were ill-treated and ill-fed by their employer, who had also confiscated their phones. Their family approached us after they failed to contact them. We got in touch with our embassy in Kuwait, who rescued the two and brought them to the shelter home at the embassy. The mother and daughter arrived safely in Bengaluru on January 3,” said Singh.
Set up by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the objective of the office of the PoE is to encourage foreign recruitment agencies to register with us and curb illegal activities. Three new agents in Karnataka have applied for registration. Their applications are under process, Singh said.