Men ‘sold into slavery’ @ $2,000 each in Ahmedabad

DNA takes you through the horrifying tale of eight victims of human trafficking, from the city. These men, who fell prey to a duo claiming to run a ‘placement agency’, recount the horror of the month they spent in Basra in Iraq. DNA recounts their journey of hope which turned into a nightmare full of humiliation.

In a sordid case of human trafficking, a group of eight people from Gomtipura, who were lured with the promise of good jobs, were sold for $2000 in Iraq.

The young men, who had been told that they would all be given jobs of their choice, were forced to work in entirely different and inhuman conditions. They lived on negligible food, got little medical assistance and had no proper shelter to call their own. After a month-long torture, they managed to contact their families, who had to pay a hefty sum to get them back.

However, the Karanj police delayed registering an FIR in the case. The group then approached the court, which on Wednesday, ordered the police station to register the case.

Aejaz Ansari, Salim Ansari, Akbar Ansari, Subhanali Ansari , Achchanbabu Ansari, Istakhar Ahmad Ansari, Mehmodshah Ansari and Faiaz Ansari were all promised lucrative jobs in multinational companies abroad, by an agent named Arsad Ansari and his father. Hailing from very poor families, these young men were tempted by the offer and fell for the bait.

They had no idea they would be tricked into menial jobs, be made to physically and mentally suffer and would be paid nothing for their hard labour.

In their complaint filed with the metropolitan magistrate, the group has alleged that in February, they came in contact with the Ansaris, who ran a placement agency for foreign jobs. He told them of a supposed job vacancy in 'Iteco Oilfield Supply Middle East FZE' for helpers, and that this was a well-paying job.

However, they were asked to pay Rs70,000 towards expenses including their passport, visa transportation and accommodation expenses.

The victims arranged for the money with great difficulty, and left for Iraq via Dubai on May 18, each separately. They have alleged that when they reached Basra in Iraq, each of them met one Ali and Jamal. These two took some of them to a sherbet factory, others to restaurants.
“The young men, who met one another in Iraq itself, were physically tortured and were not allowed to speak with their family members. Harassed, they finally refused to work.

But they were told that they were bought from their agent for $2000, and that they had to do whatever was asked of them, till the entire amount was recovered,” states the complaint.

However, the men, in the meanwhile, managed to communicate with the family of one of them, and explained their predicament.

When the family spoke to the agent, requesting him to call all the victims back, the agent refused to entertain them. The family members were also threatened and told not to breathe a word about the matter to anyone, or else their relatives back in Iraq would be killed. Finally, when the family members agreed to pay a sum of $650 and for the tickets, a sum of $2052 each was sent to Iraq.

After the entire episode, the eight decided to file a complaint with the police. “We approached the police a month ago, on July 2. However, the police refused to take the complaint. On Wednesday, we filed an application with the metropolitan magistrate court, praying an inquiry into the matter. The court, while hearing the application, directed the Karanj police station to inquire into the case and record the statement of the victims,” said Mohammed Ahmed Ansari, advocate of the group.

Confirming the move, PD Manavar, police inspector with the Karanj police station, told DNA, “We have been informed about the court order. We will start looking into the matter.”