Ludhiana, June 14: A young woman from Ludhiana district, who left for Oman in April seeking a better future, returned home this week after surviving what she described as a “living hell.” Lured by the promise of a legitimate job and a monthly salary between ₹30,000 and ₹40,000, the woman ended up trapped in a cycle of exploitation and fear for two months.
Speaking at Nirmal Kutiya, she recounted how her passport was taken away on arrival in Muscat, and instead of the promised clinical work, she was forced into illegal labor under threat of violence. “They told me they’d sell me or kill me if I resisted. I worked around the clock with barely any food or rest,” she said, recalling her ordeal. Even the cash she carried with her was seized, and she never received the promised wages.
Her escape became possible only after Rajya Sabha MP Balbir Singh Seechewal intervened and raised the issue with the Ministry of External Affairs. With coordination from Indian authorities and the embassy in Oman, she was safely repatriated.
Her family, visibly shaken, expressed anguish over her ordeal and thanked Seechewal for his timely efforts. “We lived in constant fear. We can’t thank him enough for bringing our daughter back alive,” her father said.
Seechewal called for immediate and strict action against human trafficking networks and the local agent responsible for sending the woman abroad under false pretenses. “These traffickers are destroying lives. I appeal to everyone—verify before trusting agents. Don’t let desperation become a doorway to exploitation,” he said, urging vigilance in Punjab’s rural communities.
The woman’s return marks a small victory, but her story underscores a larger, persistent threat faced by vulnerable jobseekers misled by traffickers posing as recruitment agents.
