Preeti Kujur told The Indian Express over the phone from Oman that she was recruited earlier this year through a network of agents who assured her of employment in Dubai as a domestic worker.
However, shortly before departure from Delhi, she and two other women from Simdega were allegedly informed that they would instead be travelling to Oman.
When they objected, recruiters allegedly assured them that they would be moved to Dubai after working in Oman for a few months. Based on those assurances, the women agreed to travel to Oman in February this year, she said.
Kujur alleged that after arriving in Oman, she and other workers were kept in an accommodation for about a week and were not allowed to move freely. “Immediately after we reached the airport in Oman, we were attended to by the Omani agent who seized our phones and locked us in a room arranged for the workers,” she claimed.
The case first came to light after Adivasi rights activist Augustina Soren, who works on issues concerning tribal women in Jharkhand, raised the matter with authorities and sought an intervention for Kujur’s return.
Kujur claimed that when she expressed her desire to return to India, she was told that money spent on her travel and recruitment would have to be repaid before she could leave.
She alleged that she was employed as a domestic worker, but was made to perform extensive duties beyond what she had expected. “The recruiters told me to pay Rs 1.2 lakh if I want to return…,” she alleged.
Another Adivasi woman from Simdega, Rekha Kerketta (25), who travelled to Oman along with Kujur later, escaped and returned soon after a month using her own expenses, she said.
Kerketta told The Indian Express that all three women from Simdega had agreed to travel, believing they were headed to Dubai. She alleged that they learned only shortly before departure that their destination had been changed to Oman. “We objected because we wanted to go only to Dubai. But we were told we would work in Oman for a few months and then be moved there. We had no choice, as they had already spent money on us. It was a trap,” Kerketta said.
Kerketta confirmed Kujur’s account that after landing in Oman, local agents received them at the airport and took away their passports and phones. She alleged that they were locked for several days before being taken to their employers.
“For five to six days, we stayed there without our phones and passports. Every day we were taken to an office where employers would come and select workers,” she said.
Kerketta said she decided to return after a few days of work and informed her employer and agents that she did not wish to continue in Oman. She alleged that she was told she would have to pay approximately Rs 1 lakh before being allowed to leave.
“My family arranged the money, which was transferred through the recruitment chain. My family also paid for my return ticket, taking the total expenditure to around Rs 1.4 lakh,” Kerketta said, adding that only after the payment was made was she able to return to India.
Shikha Lakra, who is associated with the State Migrant Workers Cell under the Jharkhand Labour Department, told The Indian Express that the department has established contact with Kujur and initiated efforts to facilitate her return.
“The woman has been contacted by the department. A request has been made to the Indian embassy for assistance. The embassy is in touch with her, and we are continuously following up on the matter,” Lakra said.