Indian support group inundated with expats duped by rogue recruiters

Redio helps workers stranded in the Middle East and elsewhere to return to India

Deepak Kumar was duped after paying 100,000 rupees ($1,340) to an fake recruitment company in western India that claimed to be recruiting seamen for an oil tanker. Photo: Deepak Kumar

Deepak, who became stranded in Dubai, is among at least 150 expats across the Middle East and elsewhere who were conned by agents in India. Photo: Deepak Kumar

Deepak Kumar with two other men who were assisted by community workers and able to return from Dubai to India. Photo: Deepak Kumar

Deepak Kumar with two other men who were assisted by community workers and able to return from Dubai to India. Photo: Deepak Kumar

Fourteen Indian sailors in a room in Sanaa where they were held for 10 months by Houthi rebels. They were released last week following negotiations by Indian officials. Courtesy: Mohanraj Thanigachalam

A voluntary group that works to rescue Indian victims of rogue recruitment agents has been inundated with requests for help from people in 18 countries.

Rescuing Every Distressed Indian Overseas (Redio) was launched this week with email and phone contacts posted on Facebook for those in distress.

It was started by a retired Indian diplomat, a Dubai-based businessman and a social worker, and has already assisted more than 150 people since it informally began its work in January.

Some of the victims it has helped were in the UAE, Saudi and Oman. They were conned by corrupt agents, typically based in India, who charge victims fees for jobs that often fail to materialise. It has also helped seamen stranded in war-torn Yemen to get home safely.

“People sell their land, gold jewellery, mortgage their homes to get jobs abroad. A large number of unauthorised people are selling fake dreams in India,” Dnyaneshwar Mulay, who served as secretary in India’s Ministry of External Affairs and as the country’s consul general in New York, told The National.

“There are irresponsible recruitment agents who give false papers, appointment letters and exploit people.

“It is really about mounting an effort so people do not unnecessarily suffer aboard and can avoid horrendous experiences when they look for a job abroad.”

The official launch took place at a function in Delhi on Sunday with Meenakshi Lekhi, India’s Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture.

Calls for help from the Middle East to China

Despite warnings from embassies to work only with registered recruiters, men and women enter countries like the UAE on visit visas hoping to land a job and take care of their families back home.

Redio has received dozens of calls from workers who take big loans to pay agents who falsely guarantee jobs in companies based in countries from the Middle East to China.

The voluntary group will bring together diplomatic missions and community workers overseas, seek help from state governments in India and bring on board former ambassadors.

“We want to have one platform, a powerful network with connections to community organisations in countries with a significant presence of Indian blue collar workers,” said Rahul Tulpule, a Dubai businessman.

“We cannot turn a blind eye when people ask for assistance. We want to work hand-in-hand with the overseas missions.”

In some cases, the group has tracked down the agents and ensured they paid for the airfares home of workers seeking to return.

A recent case was of Deepak Kumar, 24, who paid 100,000 rupees ($1,340) to a recruitment company in western India’s Gujarat state claiming to recruit seamen for an oil tanker.

When Mr Kumar and two others landed in the UAE in January, the company paid for their hotel stay in Dubai and Sharjah for 10 days after which all calls to the agent in India went unanswered.

“We were in tears, we had no money, we were on the street,” said Mr Kumar, speaking on the phone from India.

“It was a terrible time, the worst time of our life. We were like beggars with no food or place to stay.”

Community members heard of their plight and put them in touch with the Redio group that helped with food, accommodation and worked with consular staff to arrange for their return to India.

On reaching India, Mr Kumar filed complaints with the local seafarers body but found the recruitment firm had shut down their office and were not traceable.

“I now tell people don’t trust agents who are not registered with the government,” said Mr Kumar, who needs to pay interest on the loan he took out to pay the recruiter.

“I tell my friends to check for government identity cards because only if the agent is registered can they be traced and the government can make them pay.”

Stranded in Yemen

In another case, a group of men held captive in Yemen returned home after 10 months, following the combined effort of a group of volunteers and Indian officials.

Nilesh Lohar, 27, was on a ship sailing from Oman to Saudi Arabia that strayed into Yemeni waters in February 2020 after engine trouble.

The 20-strong crew of Indians and Bangladeshis was held by Houthi rebel groups. Armed men confiscated their mobiles, passports and placed them under surveillance in a building in Sanaa.

“We explained we were going to Saudi but they said we were in Yemen waters without permission,” he said.

The men received little support from their companies and recruitment agencies and it was only in December 2020 that they were able to reach community social workers.

“We had lost all hope. We thought we would die there. We felt the danger, there were blasts regularly at night. We thought we were forgotten forever,” Mr Lohar said.

He said it was only after contacting Dhanashree Patil, a former Dubai resident who now works with Redio, that their return home was fast-tracked.

The financial impact on the workers has been heavy. Mr Lohar’s mother has been diagnosed with cancer and he still needs to pay back 200,000 rupees he paid to an agent to secure the job.

Ms Patil now works in India as Redio's global administrator and co-ordinates relief work.

She helps arrange accommodation, food for people in distress and liaisons with diplomatic missions so they can track down agents to pay outstanding amounts owed to workers.

Some companies confiscate workers’ passports and the group helps with formalities like securing emergency certificates to leave the country.

“The workers need a lot of mental support,” Ms Patil said.

“We need to be on the alert and constantly monitor the phone. This is because when a worker is in trouble, they don’t have regular access to a mobile. They often need help immediately.”

Redio will conduct campaigns so workers are aware of the channels they can approach for help.

The group has established contact with a network of volunteers in 18 countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, UK, US, France, Germany, Singapore, Kenya, China and Thailand.