Greedy agents duping expats

Hyderabad: About a month ago, Syed Alam, 27, and his wife Sajida Begum from Pahadishareef went to Saudi Arabia to work in a Saudi national’s house. A visa agent from Mehdipatnam had promised them well paying jobs and had said that the employer was known to treat his employees well.

Sajida Begum was offered a domestic help’s job, and Syed Alam, the post of the family driver. The couple needed them to repay debts. But the reality they faced when they reached Saudi Arabia was different. Alam says that his employer used to slap him even for small mistakes while driving. Sajida Begum said her employer’s wife used to assault her for no reason.

The employer also prevented the couple from meeting. He said they had come on separate visas and not on couple’s visa, and there should be no contact between them. After a month, Hyderabad’s East Zone police helped to rescue the couple after receiving a complaint from Alam’s brother.

Many blue collar workers working in the houses of Saudi nationals in Saudi Arabia face harsh conditions and physical violence. Women who went on the Kadama (domestic servant) visa suffer the most. Many men are also trapped.
In January, the South Zone police booked five cases against visa agents for this. This week, the East Zone police booked two cases and rescued three people including two women.

“One major problem is that most people go abroad with the help of illegal agents who do not register their details with local Indian embassies. These unregistered workers fall prey to all kinds of cruelty,” said South Zone DCP V.

Sathyanarayana, whose team had earlier rescued five women trapped in Saudi Arabia last year and early this year.  Police found that visa agents send women to Saudi Arabia on tourist visas and force them to do domestic work in houses, where they sometimes face even sexual exploitation.

“All the victims are poor and are desperate to go abroad to earn money. They end up suffering because of the greedy agents who make money from both the victim and the employer,” said a cop from East Zone.

Cops force agents to bring back indians

The police has now perfected the art of rescuing Indians trapped abroad without approaching the Union ministry of external affairs and local Indian embassies.

They simply file cases against local agents in Hyderabad and use them to pressure their counterparts abroad to get the migrants released and sent them back home. Police also takes the help of Indian social workers based in Saudi Arabia.

Cops said the process of routing requests through MEA is time consuming. The shortcuts are more practical, they said. But these methods may not work always work.

Police said the main reason for using shortcuts is that most of the victims are undocumented workers, who have not registered with the Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia. This makes it difficult for MEA to get involved.

Police said that if help reaches a trapped victim late, because of the various procedures required in involving the MEA and the Indian embassy, the employer could harm the expats. “The employer can conceal some of his properties and frame the victim in a case of theft. The victim may then end up in jail. He could also manipulate the situation in many ways,” said a senior official from South Zone police.

Police generally books cases against local agents for cheating under IPC. Police officials warn them of the consequence they would face if any harm befalls the expat. Since the number of cases is increasing the police plans to organise awareness events for the Gulf-bound.

“We have to make them aware of legal ways to reach Gulf countries for employment by approaching bonafide visa agents,” said South Zone DCP V. Sathyanarayana.