New Delhi: Each one of us dreams to get a good job and give our families a better life. However, knitting such dream turned out into a dreadful reality for a Telangana designer, who ended up being a slave in Saudi Arabia.
Husna Begum, 30, went to Gulf with a hope to help her family financially after she was offered a job there. However, little did she know that she has become one of the many victims of greedy agents exploiting gullible people with job offers in the Gulf.
According to the media reports, the victim, who is a resident of Hasan Nagar locality in Rajendranagar, has sent two WhatsApp videos to her family in the past two weeks and appealed to the Indian government to rescue her from employer Abus Saif.
Husna’s mother Abida Begum has alleged that an agent named Shafi had promised her a job in a Riyadh hospital, where she was to design costumes for nurses. Abida has also stated that Shafi even took Rs. 20,000 from Husna.
“My daughter first went to Mumbai where Shafi kept her in hotel and took Rs 20,000. In Saudi Arabia, she was held captive and forced to do domestic chores at Saif`s house in Dammam who also harassed her,” Abida told a leading daily.
“She was promised a job in Riyadh by the agent, but Husna was given a ticket to Dammam and she was told to be there for some time as the hospital inauguration is due. After a few days, she realised that she was sold to Abu Saif. She now desperately wants to return home, but is being held captive,” she added.
Abida also mentioned that on contacting Shaif post the incident, the accused is defaming Husna instead.
“I reached Mumbai and contacted Shafi. On the contrary, the agent is casting aspersions on my daughter's character. The Mumbai police took my complaint and assured me help, but Shafi is moving freely,” Abida Begum said.
The family lodged a complaint at Kurla police station in Mumbai against Shafi.
On the other hand, the Andhra Pradesh government has also proposed to send a team to Arab nations to study the living conditions of Telugu workers, after which there was a spike in complaints by migrant workers. The Telangana government has also reportedly drawn up a plan to deal with unscrupulous agents and recruiters.
