Mumbai: Police, acting on instructions from the Maharashtra State Women’s Commission, have registered an FIR against the agents who sent Ambarnath resident Farida Khan to Muscat, where she was allegedly ill-treated by an Arab family.
Ms. Khan (36) was rescued and brought back earlier this year after she reached out to the commission. She had been forcibly put to work as domestic help for the family in Muscat since January. She even tried to reach the travel agents for help, but to no avail.
An officer with the Ambarnath police said the FIR was registered against two Ambarnath-based agents, identified as Iqbal and Imran, on Wednesday.
“The accused have been booked for cheating and human trafficking under the Indian Penal Code, after Ms. Khan recorded a statement. Efforts are on to apprehend them,” the officer said.
In January, Ms. Khan came into contact with Mr. Iqbal, who offered to send her to Dubai so that she could earn good money and help her husband Abdul Aziz Khan, a tempo driver, with household expenses. The Khans have a son and two daughters, and Mr. Khan is the sole breadwinner for the family.
“The duo obtained a visa for me and on January 27, I flew to Dubai, where I was received by an agent named Raju. Five days later, he put me on a flight to Muscat and I started working as domestic help for a family there. The family treated me very badly, often abusing me physically and treating me like a slave. I tried reaching Mr. Raju, but my attempts failed, after which I informed my husband,” Ms. Khan said in her statement.
Mr. Khan subsequently contacted Mr. Imran, who demanded ₹60,000 for helping the Khans. Mr. Khan raised the money and paid him, but meanwhile, Mr. Imran was arrested in a cheating case.
Mr. Khan, through his efforts, reached out to another agent in the chain, identified as Anas, who allegedly told Mr. Khan that he had paid ₹1.9 lakh to Mr. Raju in exchange for Ms. Khan’s services for two years.
The Khans then contacted the commission through its Suhita Helpline for women. The commission, with help from the Ministry of External Affairs, brought Ms. Khan to India on April 25. She was reunited with her family on May 1.
“The commission has directed the Thane police to take strictest action against the accused agents. It is the commission’s priority to prevent women from falling prey to such rackets,” Santosh Kulkarni, member of the commission, said.
