A 33-year-old Indian aspiring air hostess, who travelled to the UAE to fulfil her dream but was allegedly held captive by traffickers, has been rescued after Sushma Swaraj intervened following her brother’s desperate tweet to the External Affairs Minister.
“Need help for rescuing my sister from UAE. She went to UAE for a job on 14th but now locked up in a room. Please contact,” read Dev Tamboli’s first tweet to Ms. Swaraj on August 21.
“She has been kept captive with some other girls. And are even beaten Pls help,” Tamboli, who works in Qatar, said in a second tweet.
Hours later, Ms. Swaraj tweeted back promising to intervene.
“I have asked our ambassador in the UAE to help. He will speak to you and do the needful,” she said.
Mr. Tamboli said minutes after Ms. Swaraj’s tweet, he got a call from Indian envoy to the UAE T.P. Seetharam, the Gulf News reported on Thursday.
What followed was a concerted effort by police in Al Ain - where the 33-year-old woman was held captive, embassy officials and some Indian community leaders to find and rescue her from the trafficking ring.
The next day, Ms. Swaraj tweeted to Mr. Tamboli with the good news: “We have rescued your sister with the help of local police. She is being moved to a shelter home run by the Indian embassy.”
This is the latest episode in which Ms. Swaraj promptly offered help to Indians in distress abroad. Earlier this month, the Minister also promised to bring back Gita, the deaf and mute Indian woman stuck in Pakistan for more than a decade after Pakistani human rights activist Ansar Burney’s tweet about her.
“My sister is safe now and soon after finishing some formalities, she will be sent home... I am thankful to UAE and Indian authorities for all the help,” a relieved Mr. Tamboli was quoted as saying by the paper.
