Jalandhar,
An NGO, Helping Hapless, run by Amanjot Kaur Ramoowalia today claimed to have helped in the rescue of a Jalandhar-based woman, Bachno (40), from Saudi Arabia where she had been allegedly harassed while working as a domestic help.

Bachno, wife of scrap dealer Chand Ram, said she had moved to Saudi Arabia in February 2016. “I was working as a help with a Sheikh’s family there who was a retired police officer. He had 16 children. They kept me well for the first three months and paid 1,000 Riyal per month. However, soon they started harassing me. They used to beat me and give me very little food. I wanted to return but my passport had been taken away so there was no way out,” said the woman.

The victim said she had been lured to Saudi Arabia by her friend, who too worked for another family there. “I have three children and was working here too as domestic help to make both ends meet. But I got lured by my friend’s call and contacted a travel agent, Arman, who is based in Delhi. He told me to get in touch with Iram, his Jalandhar-based contact. They took Rs 1 lakh from me in lieu of a two-year contract. But when I came back, I just had 3,000 Riyal, in addition to a few purchases, including a laptop and make-up kits that I made after being freed. Unfortunately, even these belongings got stolen at the airport there,” she said.

Amanjot, who is the daughter of politician Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, said that kin of Bachno, who reside at Model House in Jalandhar, had contacted her to seek help for Bachno about two months back. “We sought all her details and then contacted the embassy. We even kept External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in the loop.