Stuck in Dubai, 8 men from Punjab, Haryana return home
MOHALI: Eight men from Punjab and Haryana, who had gone to Dubai with a dream of securing permanent jobs but got stuck there, landed back in Mohali on Saturday.
They returned to India with the help of Dubai-based philanthropist SP Singh Oberoi, who arranged their tickets.
23-year-old Inderjeet Singh, who hails from Haryana’s Karnal, was disheartened by his Dubai experience, where he was working with a company named Madar Al Falak Security Services LLC.
“One should not go to aboard for work purpose as all one gets is a betrayal,” he said.
Like others, Inderjeet, too, is a Class-12 pass. He had gone to Dubai with his cousin Rinku.
“We both came across a security services company based in Dubai in November last year through a local travel agency and we applied for visa,” he said.
For Rinku, life was ‘hell’ in Dubai.
“We were promised permanent jobs, but on reaching there, we were given temporary cards valid for only two months,” said Rinku, a native of Kurukshetra.
Shubham Sharma, 27, also had a similar tale to tell.
“I joined the company along with my elder brother Pawan Sharma in October last year. We haven’t been paid even a penny by the company till date as promised. The only thing we got was a meagre amount for food. The living conditions for people like us are really bad there,” he said.
Shubham said their travel agent had taken ₹4 lakh from them. “He had also taken responsibility to secure us a job, but later shrugged it off,” he added.
Accusing his employer and travel agent of cheating them, Shubham’s brother Pawan said, “The company and the travel agent only swindled money out of us. The company, in fact, has been shut due to financial issues.”
‘NEVER THOUGHT DUBAI WILL TURN INTO A NIGHTMARE’
Hopes of 22-year-old Jobanjeet from Punjab’s Amritsar were also dashed in the same manner.
“The financial condition of our family was not good, which prompted me to go to Dubai. But, I was not expecting that it will turn into a nightmare for me,” he said.
Jorawar Singh, 33, of Hoshiarpur said, “Since the company was closed, we had no other option but to shift to a nearby gurdwara. Many like us even slept on roads. Now, even the gurdwara authorities had started asking us to move out.”
Puneet Kumar, 33, who hails from Delhi, said they had lost all hopes of ever setting foot back in their homeland. “But someone at gurdwara there told us about SP Singh Oberoi and we contacted him. He has given us a new lease of life,” he added.
Mintu Singh, 21, of Rupnagar, said he had not informed his family about his return. “I will be able to make them understand better once I reach home,” he said.
Meanwhile, Oberoi, who assisted these men in their homecoming, said he had received a call from one of them on Friday.
“I met them and on finding their passports valid, I booked their tickets for Chandigarh,” he added.
“I always feel obligated to help my people who are stuck overseas due to various reasons,” he said.
“Indian government should issue strict norms for fraudulent travel agents who dupe innocent people,” he added.
CLAIM THEY WERE WORKING WITH A SECURITY SERVICES COMPANY BASED IN DUBAI, WHICH GOT SHUT DUE TO FINANCIAL ISSUES; ALLEGE THEY WEREN’T PAID SALARIES