Pune/Nagpur: The police in Pune have registered an FIR against eight persons, including the operators of a consultancy, for allegedly trafficking a 28-year-old woman from Nagpur to Portugal and selling her to a beer shop owner.
The woman came in touch with the consultancy through Instagram and was allegedly offered a high-paying job as a cashier in Portugal. She was to work for eight hours a day as a cashier. The payment would be Rs 1.5 lakh per month.
The woman has claimed that the consultancy then took Rs 11 lakh from her in installments for visa fees and other expenses.
After she landed in Portugal, the “agents” allegedly snatched her passport and held her hostage in a room for two days. They then allegedly sold her to a beer shop owner, where she was forced to work and subjected to severe mental and physical torture.
The accused demanded more money from her when she asked them to return her passport, the woman allegedly, as reported by NDTV.
The woman finally discovered an escape route after enduring nearly a month of torture. She first fled to Lisbon by bus and then went to Madrid. From there, she managed to return to India via Doha.
Her ordeal didn’t end even after she landed in India, the fraudsters apparently demanded another Rs 3 lakh under the pretext of getting her a job in Malta. When she refused, they began threatening to kill her husband and implicate her in false cases.
She finally approached the Pune police and registered a complaint. An investigation has been initiated and searches are underway.
