Woman escapes being sold in Dubai

Mumbai: A 37-year-old woman from Colaba saved herself from being sold in Dubai and with her help the Dubai police was able to catch the man involved in a racket where more than 500 girls from India were sold in Dubai. Three others were arrested by the Mumbai police in the racket.

Mumtaz Shaikh lives with her physically challenged husband, paralysed father-in-law and 14-year-old daughter in Colaba and is the only breadwinner of her family. “I met a woman called Gulabjan Sayyed (40) at my workplace in August and we struck a friendship. We shared our problems with each other and she started coming to my house. She later forced me to quit my job, saying she could find me a better job with good pay in Saudi Arabia. I accepted her offer as I was desperate to get my husband operated and needed money for it. She introduced me to three men who she said would take me to Saudi.”

Instead, Ms Shaikh found herself in Dubai. Recounting her days in Dubai, she said, “I will never forget those four days as they were a nightmare for me. I went with a man called Aftab Khan. After we reached Dubai airport, he told me to sit and warned me not to move. I spent a whole night without eating anything and waited for him. On the next day he returned and said the same thing. When I asked him for my visa to Saudi, he said he had it but did not show it to me. As I did not have any money, I started drinking water from the toilet to quench my thirst.”

She added, “On the third day, Aftab Khan again asked me to stay where I was waiting and did not give my passport. I told him that I found his behaviour suspicious and that I wanted to go back to Mumbai. At that time he threatened me that he had stationed his man near my house in Colaba and if I did anything, he would get my daughter killed or raped. It was then that I realised I was trapped in a bad situation.”

Ms Shaikh added that on the fourth day, Aftab tried taking her to a corner and inject her. “When he held me forcefully, I saw something like a needle. I didn’t know what was happening, so I pushed him hard and the injection fell from his hand. I started beating him and ran towards the public. He caught hold of me. Within a few minutes, the Dubai police reached the spot and caught us both.”

Ms Shaikh told the Dubai police that she had seen the man with an injection and narrated her plight for the past four days. After running checks, the Dubai police told her that there were 500 cases registered against Aftab for selling women in Dubai and was a wanted accused. “They helped me return to Mumbai. After I came back, I went to the Colaba police and lodged a complaint,” Ms Shaikh said.

Confirming the case, the Colaba police said, “We arrested the woman who manipulated Ms Shaikh and learnt about her two colleagues who sell women abroad. We have arrested three people, including Gulabjan Sayyed. We are also trying to contact the Dubai police to get an idea if Aftab, who is in their custody, has more colleagues in Mumbai or in India who sell women.”