Karnataka woman confined illegally in UAE returns home safely after NRI’s timely intervention

coastaldigest.com news network
February 28, 2022

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Mangaluru, Feb 28: Naseema Bee Rashid, resident of Tumakuru district in Karnataka, who has been confined by an Indian agent in Ajman, UAE, finally reached her hometown on February 27, via Mangaluru International Airport with the active involvement and help of Adv. P A Hameed Padubidri, a social worker based in Riyadh-KSA. 

Two UAE NRI social workers – P A Mutthalib Padubidri and P M Basheer Ummer Farook supported in this endeavour of Adv. Hameed Padubidri. 

Naseema Bee Rashid was sent to Dubai in April 2021 as a housemaid with the temptation of fabulous packages by an agent in Bengaluru. 

One Ibrahim in Bengaluru is the manpower and visa services agent, who is a sub-agent of main agent named Shafi in Ajman-UAE. Afzal Pasha based in Dubai is another intermediary agent to Shafi. It's learnt that Ibrahim and Afzal Pasha received 1 lakh each for hiring and supplying Naseema Bee to the main agent Shafi in Ajman. 

Naseema Bee was supplied to Emirati house as a housemaid, where the agent was receiving more than three thousand UAE Dirhams. She was working for around 6 months and was paid salary for around 4 months; that too, meagre salary of less than 40% of the received amount. Due to her health condition, she was not able to continue to work. She told the agent to send her back to India as she was unable to do works. But, the agent refused to do so.  

Despite of her health issues, she was forced to work for other Emirati house. But, she refused to work citing the health reasons. He started harassing her and when she requested to send her back to India, he demanded INR. 2lakhs from her. When her son, Afsar, from Tumakuru, requested him over telephone to send her mother back, he said she will be sent back only if the said amount was deposited in his account; otherwise, he can't even see her mother's dead body. Not only that, she was also confined in a single room without any contact. She was also threatened of dire consequence if she was reluctant to work. 

Her son, Afsar, contacted and requested Adv. P A Hameed through Mrs Sabiha Tumakuru, who was also once stranded and helped by the former in a gulf country. 

Adv P A Hameed said that he immediately contacted and requested the Indian Consulate in Dubai to look into her case immediately. Also, he requested the Human Rights Commission in Dubai in this regard. 

Both the Commission and Consulate took up the case based on Adv. P.A. Hameed's petition and warned the agent to send her back immediately to India before taking the legal action against him. The agent agreed to send her back without delay. 

Still he was insisting her son to at least deposit the ticket amount of INR. 25K. Adv. P A Hameed told her son not to pay a single penny to the agent as it's the agent's responsibility to bear the return ticket. Accordingly, he refused to deposit the ticket amount. 

Finally, by understanding the seriousness of the situation, the agent himself booked the ticket for her and sent her back to her hometown. She was received by her son and relatives in Mangaluru and she reached her home safely the next day morning.

Naseema Bee and her family extended their immense thanks to the Good Samaritan NRIs for their socio-humanitarian works in getting her landed in India safely. They also expressed their immense gratitude to the Indian Consulate in Dubai, especially Mr Jithendra Singh Nega, official in the Consulate and Human Rights Commission in Dubai for their help.

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News Network
January 23,2026

Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot read only three lines from the 122-paragraph address prepared by the Congress-led state government while addressing the joint session of the Legislature on Thursday, effectively bypassing large sections critical of the BJP-led Union government.

The omitted portions of the customary Governor’s address outlined what the state government described as a “suppressive situation in economic and policy matters” under India’s federal framework. The speech also sharply criticised the Centre’s move to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, commonly referred to as the VB-GRAM (G) Act.

Governor Gehlot had earlier conveyed his objection to several paragraphs that were explicitly critical of the Union government. On Thursday, he confined himself to the opening lines — “I extend a warm welcome to all of you to the joint session of the State legislature. I am extremely pleased to address this august House” — before jumping directly to the concluding sentence of the final paragraph.

He ended the address by reading the last line of paragraph 122: “Overall, my government is firmly committed to doubling the pace of the State’s economic, social and physical development. Jai Hind — Jai Karnataka.”

According to the prepared speech, the Karnataka government demanded the scrapping of the VB-GRAM (G) Act, describing it as “contractor-centric” and detrimental to rural livelihoods, and called for the full restoration of MGNREGA. The state government argued that the new law undermines decentralisation, weakens labour protections, and centralises decision-making in violation of constitutional norms.

Key points from the unread sections of the speech:

•    Karnataka facing a “suppressive” economic and policy environment within the federal system

•    Repeal of MGNREGA described as a blow to rural livelihoods

•    VB-GRAM (G) Act accused of protecting corporate and contractor interests

•    New law alleged to weaken decentralised governance

•    Decision-making said to be imposed by the Centre without consulting states

•    Rights of Adivasis, women, backward classes and agrarian communities curtailed

•    Labourers allegedly placed under contractor control

•    States facing mounting fiscal stress due to central policies

•    VB-GRAM (G) Act accused of enabling large-scale corruption

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