Taking serious view of a 29-year old Kerala woman landing in a prostitution racket in Oman after being lured with a housemaid job, India has asked its mission in Muscat to take up the case with the Omanese Government and seek action against her sponsors. Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi on Monday said that stringent action would also be taken if any agent was involved in the racket.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function in Kochi, Ravi said as soon as the report appeared in media, he telephoned the Indian Ambassador in Oman and had asked for an immediate report about the agent who had sent the woman and her sponsors.
"I have also requested the Ambassador to write a strong diplomatic letter to the Foreign Affairs Ministry (of Oman) to take action against the sponsor who was running this bad affair in that country," he said.
The woman, promised a housemaid job by her travel agent, was trapped in a prostitution racket net after she flew to Oman. She was rescued on March 23 from a house following a joint raid by the Indian Embassy officials and the Oman police after her husband took up the matter. He said the woman was released by the Oman police, but had not returned to India so far.
"Once they return, I will get the names of the agent," he said. "I am told that the woman had gone through Mumbai and not from Kochi. However, I will verify. If any agent is involved, stringent action will be taken," he said. On the proposed amendment to the emigration law, he said it was yet to be put up for cabinet approval. It would provide for prosecution of fraudulent agents while extending support to those who were doing a good job.
Ravi said some agents were good. "There are 2,000 licensees in the country, I want them to perform in a transparent manner to help people rather than exploit them". He also said there was no proposal to pay any compensation to the woman who was exploited in Oman. There were certain guidelines that should be observed before women were taken as domestic servants abroad, he said adding the minimum salary had been fixed at $300 to 350.
Besides, women should be provided with a mobile phone. There was also a 24-hour helpline of Overseas Indian Ministry in every embassy to help expatriate workers, he said.
Referring to the recent alleged exploitation of hundreds of Indian workers after they were promised permanent residency in the United States, he said the agents had cheated the people with the assistance of an American company. This pointed to the need for some drastic measures.
"The proposed amendment to emigration law will help check to a certain extend such exploitations," he said. He said action was taken against two agents recently, who had advertised in the media for recruitment of nurses for foreign countries, after it was found that they were not registered agents.
