Kapurthala: A Punjabi woman from Kapurthala district returned home after being held hostage in Muscat for the last two months. Her husband had earlier contacted the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) following which she was rescued and brought back.
The victim reached her house in Kapurthala's Mohalla Lahori Gate late last evening. The victim said that in order to improve her family's financial condition, she went to Muscat in March to do domestic work. The agent took Rs 70,000 from her but sold her as soon as she reached there.
The agent told her that in Muscat she would have to do the same cleaning work that she was doing here in the hospital. Also, her remuneration would be much higher there, the agent had told her.
After she reached Muscat, she was first taken to an office, where her passport and mobile phone were taken away. The woman said that she was kept locked in a room for several days without food. Due to which, she fell ill. She said that around 25 to 30 women from Amritsar and Jalandhar were also trapped there. They too wanted to return back home, she said urging the government to help them as well.
After failing to contact his wife, the victim's husband contacted the MEA to bring her back. The victim was finally rescued by the Ministry's intervention, he said. Now, the husband has urged government to take legal action against the agent. Also, he has sought help from the Ministry to bring back the other women who are trapped there.
