Trisha Ghosh, Pune
A man from the Oshiwara district of Mumbai was arrested by the Pune police on September 22nd, on the charge of allegedly having attempted to ‘sell’ two young women from Pune in Saudi Arabia by luring them on the pretext of well-paying jobs.
The man accused has been identified as 28-year-old Mohammed Faiyaz Ahmed Yahya, who hails from Bengaluru but lives in Oshiwara, Mumbai. As per information provided by the Pune police officials, Yahya attempted to sell a couple of young women hailing from Pune in Saudi Arabia for Rs. 4 lakhs for each woman. Yahya allegedly contacted the women and lured them with the promise that he would provide them both with well-paying jobs in the Middle East in homes of affluent families. The jobs included working as housemaids as the targets were lower-income women. They were promised a minimum of Rs. 35,000 as a monthly salary.
As per the Deputy Commissioner of Police Crime Branch, Pune, four more persons accused in this case have been identified as Abdul Hamid Shaikh, Rahim, Shamima, and Nasreen. They are currently being searched for by the police. Meanwhile, Yahya has been put under police custody by a Pune court very recently until September 26th.
The victims have been reported to be from the Ambedkar Nagar of Pune. Upon arriving in Saudi Arabia with tourist visas, they reported being poorly paid at their jobs, receiving much less than what was promised. They were also allegedly subjected to a few other forms of abuse by their new employers.
Upon contacting local agents for help, the women reported being financially coerced for Rs. 4 lakh each if they wished to return home to India. They were also reportedly informed about their ‘sale’ via Yahya in exchange for the same sum. Somehow, the victims returned to Pune and lodged a complaint with the police. The accused allegedly affiliated with a recruiting company, A.A. Enterprises, located in Mahim.
The Pune police suspect that there may be other similar human trafficking gangs operating in other countries, luring poor women or people in general into rackets possibly involving slavery, abuse, and financial extortion. The probability of such occurrences poses a serious likelihood of human exploitation, especially amongst those belonging to lower-income groups.