Ranchi nurse trapped in Dubai after job scam seeks return home

A 35-year-old nurse from Ranchi is stuck in Dubai after falling for a job scam on Instagram that promised her work abroad. Monika Kachhap wanted to pay her sick mother's medical bills when she found an agent named Priyanka Arya online last year. Arya promised to arrange a nursing job in the Gulf region through a domestic staff recruitment agency.

The Ordeal

Monika sent her passport to Delhi after being asked to submit her documents. Even though she later asked for her passport back due to security worries, Arya refused and sent her a visa and flight tickets instead. Monika reached Dubai on May 6 and was picked up by a driver who took her passport away immediately. She was taken to an office in Ajman where two men named Ritesh Kumar and Mohammad Meraj Ansari made her put her thumb impression on a paper in English and Arabic. Monika soon found out the paper falsely stated she took a debt of 12,600 dirhams, or about Rs 3.29 lakh, which she had to pay back by May 25 to avoid jail.

Forced Labor

Instead of a hospital nursing job, Monika was forced to do housekeeping work at various homes and look after children without knowing Arabic. When she asked to go back to India, Ansari threatened that she would rot in Dubai if she did not pay 14,000 dirhams total, including interest. Her father, Ratna, paid Rs 15,000 to Priyanka through UPI in April and has now filed an FIR against Priyanka, Ritesh, Ansari, and their agency, AMD Trend Solution LLC. Sub-Inspector Pankaj Sharma of the Airport Police Station confirmed an FIR has been registered and authorities are working with the Indian Embassy to bring Monika home.

Context

Fraudulent overseas job rackets often target gullible job seekers through social media by promising high salaries abroad. Victims frequently find their travel documents confiscated upon arrival, trapping them in debt bondage and forced labor in foreign countries.