Sukhwant Kaur, 55, a woman from Ajitani village near Nurmahal, who was reportedly sold in Saudi Arabia and was tortured by locals, arrived at Shri Guru Ramdas Jee International Airport here on Wednesday afternoon.
Senior BJP leaders Manoranjan Kalia and Anil Joshi and local activists received her at the airpor
Her family and Jagdish Singh, former sarpanch of Ajitani village, were also present. The BJP activists and family received her with bouquets.
During a short interaction with the media, Kaur thanked the government and local leaders for help. She advised people not to send women abroad for work.
Sukhwant said, “A travel agent sold me to the Saudis.”
Former local bodies minister Anil Joshi said, “The BJP government at the Centre made it possible that she was reunited with her family. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj did her best to get her back. She even arranged her tickets from Mumbai to Amritsar.
The former sarpanch of her village also appreciated the government efforts.
AMARINDER THANKS SWARAJ FOR SAFE RETURN OF WOMAN FROM SAUDI ARABIA
Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday thanked External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for facilitating the return of a 55-year-old woman from Jalandhar, who was sold and tortured in Saudi Arabia.
He also promised a time-bound action plan by his government to prevent unscrupulous travel agents from duping innocent people.
Swaraj had yesterday apprised Singh of the situation.
The chief minister had deputed the Additional District Commissioner, Amritsar, to receive Sukhwant Kaur as she landed at Guru Ram Dass International Airport in Amritsar today.
With the External Affairs Ministry’s intervention, Kaur, who was forced to work in Saudi Arabia as a slave and was also tortured, finally reunited with her family this afternoon, said a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office.
He added that Singh was highly appreciative of Swaraj’s efforts in ensuring Kaur’s safe return.
The chief minister urged the external affairs minister to use all the political and diplomatic channels to put an end to the illegal practice of travel agents, who fraudulently send innocent people abroad, where they are victimised in various ways.
Talking to reporters at the Amritsar airport, Kaur revealed that after having worked in Saudi Arabia as a domestic help for a month, when she asked her employer about her wages, she was informed that she was sold to the family by the Delhi-based travel agent who had taken Rs 40,000 from her to send her to that country.
Kaur thanked Swaraj and others who made her return to India possible.
Kaur’s relatives as well as the residents of her native village of Ajtani, near Nurmahal in Jalandhar district, were also present at the airport to receive her.
