Jalandhar woman sold & abused in Oman, rescued

A woman from Jalandhar district has returned home after experiencing a traumatic ordeal in Oman, where she was allegedly sold, physically abused and coerced into forced labour.

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Her rescue was made possible by efforts of Rajya Sabha MP Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal, who coordinated with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy to facilitate her safe return.

According to the survivor, she had travelled to Oman, seeking employment to support her family amid severe financial hardship. However, she discovered that she had been misled. She was subjected to inhuman working conditions, denied wages, deprived of basic necessities, and physically abused. Her account suggests that she was coerced into forced labour and lived under constant threat.

Shockingly, the woman alleged that her own sister-in-law played a role in the trafficking. She said the relative, in collaboration with a recruitment agent, had arranged her travel and later sold her in Oman for Rs 4 lakh. Betrayed by someone she trusted, she found herself isolated in a foreign country, without legal recourse or shelter.

Her situation worsened when she tried to escape. For nearly two months, she said, she lived on the streets of Oman without support. During this time, she encountered other Indian women in similar circumstances — many from Punjab, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh — who remained stranded.

She recounted witnessing a deeply disturbing incident in which a young woman was violently dragged by her hair and forced into a car, an image she said left her emotionally scarred and hopeless about returning home.

Despite her ordeal, she managed to contact her family and her husband approached Seechewal with the details of her situation. Responding swiftly, Seechewal reached out to the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Muscat. The coordination resulted in the woman’s return to India within 10 days.

Speaking to the media, Seechewal expressed concern over the growing incidents of human trafficking involving job scams. “It is tragic that a girl, already orphaned and vulnerable, was betrayed by her own family. This incident reflects a serious moral and social breakdown,” he said. He urged the public to remain vigilant against traffickers posing as recruitment agents and called for stricter government action against such criminal networks.