HYDERABAD: A 21-year-old Hyderabadi woman, who has been stranded in Muscat for the last five months after being cheated by a travel agent, is allegedly being sexually and physically assaulted, according to her mother. She urged the Minister for External Affairs to intervene in the matter and repatriate her daughter as soon as possible.
Shaheen Begum, a resident of Yakutpura, was offered a job as a helper in a store in Muscat, Oman by an agent who had learnt that she was in search of employment, her mother Sultana Begum said.
The agent Mohammed Amjad Pasha allegedly promised that she would be taken to Oman on a visit visa and that she could return to India if she did not like her job. “She was also promised a good salary, with food and accommodation,” Sultana said.
In May, when she finally travelled to the country, she was handed over to Shumukh Muscat Al Radia (Manpower Consultancy), that has been allegedly sending her to work as a maid in different houses. “She is being sexually and physically assaulted when she refuses to work or tells her employer that she wants to return to India,” Sultana added.
Now, Shumukh Muscat Al Radia is asking for Rs 2 lakh to let Shaheen go, stating that they had paid that same sum to the local agent in return for her services. “The local agent who cheated and sent her to Muscat is not responding to our calls,” said Sultana.
Officials from the Embassy of India in Oman, while responding to a plea on Twitter by activist Amjed Ullah Khan, said, “The Embassy will follow up on this case. Coming to Oman on visit visa to work is a violation of Omani labour laws. The family can file a police case against Indian agent.”