Hope floats as missing girl in Saudi shares location on WhatsApp
Victims Gurbaksh and Reena had reportedly planned to go to Malaysia, but the travel agent sent them to Saudi Arabia instead
SBS NAGAR (NAWANSHAHR) : A 21-year-old of Rahon town in the district who was untraceable in Saudi Arabia has shared her location with the family on WhatsApp.
The family has now approached the Union ministry of external affairs to bring her back from the Gulf nation.
Gurbaksh Kaur, 40, and her daughter Reena Rani, 21, were duped by travel agents in August this year.
Both had reportedly planned to go to Malaysia, but the agent fraudulently sent them to Saudi Arabia.
Though Gurbaksh returned from Saudi Arabia on November 4 after external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj intervened, the government agencies failed to trace Reena.
The location shared by Reena shows that she is in Unaizah city in Saudi Arabia.
When the family approached Union minister and the Indian embassy in Saudi Arabi sharing her locations on Twitter on Tuesday, @IndianEmbRiyadh twitted back stating “fully cognizant and working on it; she will return home soon”.
Reena’s cousin Jaswant Kumar, 36, said that Union government is actively working to trace his sister and hope she would return home soon.
He said Reena had also shared a video 10 days ago on WhatsApp but later her mobile was found switched off after that.
“I was told by Delhi-based travel agent Neha that Reena had been sent to Saudi Arabia, but I am not sure. I had last seen her three months back in a Delhi hotel,” says her mother Gurbaksh.
Both were duped by the agent on the pretext that they would get ₹20,000 salary and free accommodation for working in a factory in Malaysia.
After her return from Saudi Arabia on Saturday, Gurbaksh told Hindustan Times: “I was living in hell there and only allowed to sleep after 2am after clearing all the mess. They didn’t even provide me food. I had to eat leftovers,” she says.
This matter came to light when Gurbaksh sent a video to her family, requesting to be rescued last week. In the video, she revealed that they were in a miserable condition.
Kaur’s family later sought help from the ministry in a separate video message.
I was told by Delhibased travel agent Neha that Reena had been sent to Saudi Arabia, but I am not sure. I had last seen her three months back in a Delhi hotel.
GURBAKSH KAUR, Reena’s mother