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Woman under house-arrest in Saudi Arabia returns home

MANGALURU: Finally, the woman from Vamanjoor here, who was allegedly under house arrest in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, reached her hometown on Sunday.

Vijaya, 43, had travelled to Saudi Arabia on July 15, 2015 in search of a job to assist her family in distress. She had an ailing unemployed husband and a teenaged son. But after she left, in the last two years, Vijaya had contacted her family back home only four times. A few months later, it emerged than Vijaya was under house arrest.

A few days back, Vijaya grabbed headlines as media reported that she had been released from the shackles of her employers and would return home soon. As she returned to Mangaluru on Sunday morning, members of the Indian Social Forum (ISF), which reportedly approached the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia and traced Vijaya, welcomed her. In a video footage shot by them and the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) at the airport, Vijaya is seen explaining her plight and confirming that she was indeed house arrested.

However, Vijaya made a complete U-turn when TOI contacted her a few hours later. "Neither was I house-arrested nor was I tortured. I could not communicate with my family in two years because my Sheikh did not have currency in his phone," a nervous Vijaya told TOI over the phone.

"...bukra bukra ... (tomorrow, tomorrow...), my Sheikh used to tell me when I tried to access the phone in order to contact my family. He did not let me talk to me family only because he did not have currency in his phone. Even when my husband tried calling the number, he (employer Sheikh) used to tell my husband that he would let him speak to me the next day. They (Sheikh’s family) were fond of me. They have a kid, who is 42 months old. The kid is fond of me. Hence, they wanted me to stay with them for some more time. I wasn’t under house arrest," Vijaya said.

’Salary not paid’

When asked if her employer had settled her salary, Vijaya said she had to be paid 5,600 Saudi Riyals (about Rs 96,383), but paid only 2,000 SR (Rs 34,500). When asked why so, she said, "The employer bought three watches - for me, my husband and son, two wardrobes for me, three mobiles and an Ipod. My boss said he had spent the money on these and I agreed for the amount he gave me," she said.