Thane couple held captive by Kuwaiti employer returns home thanks to help by 'Bharosa' cell of local police, Indian embassy

Assistant Police Inspector of Bharosa cell, Meera Bhayander Vasai Virar MBVV, Tejashree Shinde said a woman from Bhayandar in the Thane district had lodged a complaint some time back stating that a maidservant and her husband had been held captive by their employer in Kuwait.

Dreams of a woman and her husband from Thane district in Maharashtra to earn decent money in Kuwait were shattered when their employer exploited them and held them captive, but thanks to the efforts of the 'Bharosa' cell of the local police and the help extended by the Indian embassy in that country, the couple returned to India safely, a police official said on Wednesday. Assistant Police Inspector of Bharosa cell, Meera Bhayander Vasai Virar (MBVV), Tejashree Shinde said a woman from Bhayandar in the Thane district had lodged a complaint some time back stating that a maidservant and her husband had been held captive by their employer in Kuwait. The woman told the police that she knew the couple as she had worked with them in the past. ''She stated in her complaint that the couple moved to Kuwait on April 5 this year through a recruitment agency. They were hired as domestic helps by a Kuwait national. They were promised a monthly salary of Rs 40,000 and supposed to take care of two children besides doing housekeeping and cooking,'' Shinde said. However, their employer, Mosab Abdulla, forced the couple to take care of nine children and maintain a flat with six rooms. They were forced to work for 22 hours a day, she said quoting the complaint. Due to the workload, the woman fell sick and was admitted to a hospital in Kuwait. ''Meanwhile, she somehow managed to get in touch with the woman (the complainant) in Bhayandar and tweeted her a picture of the hospital in Kuwait and urged her to rescue her,'' Shinde said. After the employer came to know that the woman had tweeted her whereabouts, he snatched her mobile phone and didn't allow her and her husband to step out of his house. Meanwhile, the complainant woman rushed to the Bharosa cell of the MBVV police and sought their help to rescue the couple, the police officer said. MBVV Police got in touch with the Indian Embassy in Kuwait and sought help. ''The embassy after enquiry reverted stating that the couple had entered into a contract with the house owner and had to fulfil it. However, if the victim woman comes to the embassy in person and lodges a complaint, they could help her,'' Shinde said. On the night of June 20, the victim stepped out of Abdulla's house under the pretext of buying vegetables and reached the embassy, police said. Two days later, the embassy produced the couple in the Kuwait labour court which summoned Abdulla, who returned their passports. Meanwhile, Abdulla lodged a case for the violation of the contract against the couple. ''The court ordered the couple to return to India by July 4 on their expenses and if they failed to do so, the statement of their owner will be recorded for the alleged violation of the job contract,'' Shinde added. The couple did not have the money to fly back to India but were helped by their old employer, friends and relatives in India. ''With the help of the Bharosa cell, they finally returned to India,'' Shinde said.