HYDERABAD: A minor girl and an 18-year-old woman from Darjeeling, who were lured into coming to the city under the pretext of a job at a beauty salon, were rescued and reunited with their families, who tea garden labourers, on Wednesday. The two victims were tortured and confined for more than seven months at a house in Kondapur.
Nisha and Ashi (name changed), aged 15 and 18, are school dropouts, and had met the accused Kaaynath Hussain and Faisal almost seven months ago, in their hometown of Darjeeling. The accused had claimed that they ran a beauty salon in Hyderabad, and promised the victims a job at the salon after month-long training.
“They told us that our training will be free after which, we will get a monthly salary of Rs 5,000. Kaaynath and Faisal convinced our parents, and under the garb of a job letter, made our parents sign a contract that was written in English. Initially, they told us that it was a basic formality, but later, when we asked them to let us go, the woman (Kaaynath) told us our parents had signed a contract that says that we cannot leave until four years and if we do, our parents will have to pay Rs 80,000 per person as compensation and will also go to jail,” Ashi told Express.
Fighting back her tears, she narrated how they both were tortured for months. “They made us stay at a their home in Kondapur with their family and made us do all the domestic work. We were abused and not even given proper food. We were not allowed to talk to our parents for long and were confined to the place for months. Not even a single penny was given to us,” Ashi added.
The mother of one of the girls then reached out to an NGO, Anugyalaya, in Darjeeling, who later got in touch with the Anti Trafficking Unit (ATU) in Hyderabad. The ATU then swung in action and rescued both the girls a few weeks ago. The police then arrested both the employers and booked them under the JJ Act. The girls were then taken to a childcare centre. On Wednesday, the girls were reunited with their families.
Holding both the girls in her arms and with teary eyes, the mother thanked the Telangana police and the NGO. “I want justice for my children. We want our case to get transferred to Darjeeling as we cannot bear the expenses to come to Hyderabad for the case hearings,” said the mother.
Victims were promised work in beauty salon
Nisha and Ashi (name changed), aged 15 and 18, are school dropouts, and had met the accused Kaaynath Hussain and Faisal almost seven months ago, in their hometown of Darjeeling. The accused claimed to run a beauty salon in Hyderabad, and promised the victims a job at the salon after month-long training. The accused made the girls’ parents sign a document, which they claimed was a job offer. However, they later told the girls that it was a contract that bound them for four years