Hyderabad: The two Telugu states accounted for the highest share of complaints related to fraudulent overseas recruitment in the country over the last three years, reveals Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) data tabled in the Lok Sabha recently. While Andhra Pradesh topped the list with 1,495 complaints, Telangana came in at fourth place with 339. Kerala and Tamil Nadu ranked second and third, respectively, with 625 and 357 complaints. But the grievances, according to MEA, were similar across the region: financial scam, unlawful retention of passport, non-payment of wages, deceptive job contracts and workplace exploitation. Probe found most of the complaints were against unregistered or illegal agents. “Jagtial, Nizamabad, Kamareddy, Nirmal, Rajanna Sircilla, and the Old City part in Hyderabad are where most complaints come from, in Telangana, since it witnesses the highest exodus of workers,” said Mandha Bheem Reddy, vice-chairman, NRI advisory committee, govt of Telangana. Across the border in AP, it’s the Konaseema region, Kadapa and, lately, Visakhapatnam that have become clusters from where people travel abroad for work, said a source from the AP Non-Resident Telugu Society (APNRTS). “Since sub-agents are aware of this, they are very active in these areas and scout for vulnerable candidates to send abroad. Later, these people become victims,” the source added. Even highly educated people like doctors and engineers get cheated at times, Mandha added. But the jobs most commonly offered are that of domestic helpers, drivers, construction workers, warehouse and supermarket staff, cleaners etc in countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and even European nations. On landing, these candidates are, however, either forced into some other menial job like working as a shepherd or made to live in inhabitable places, ill-treated by employers and pushed into slavery. Case studiesOfficials working with CM Pravasi Prajavani recalled a recent case where five months ago, a 22-year-old man from Jagtial was sent to Saudi Arabia by a Mumbai-based agent to work as an office assistant. Instead, he was allegedly forced to work as a shepherd in a desert area without proper accommodation. The family had to approach the police and later, with the help of state, the Telangana high court to bring him back. He is expected to return to Hyderabad on Tuesday. In another case a woman from Hyderabad, in her late thirties, is still allegedly languishing in Oman where she was sent to work as a domestic help. While the agent, from Mumbai, said to had assured her comfortable stay at the employer’s home, she was allegedly forced to work in multiple houses leading to severe health issues. Yet, her unrelenting employer forced her to slog, while also allegedly making her pay Rs 1 lakh for violating the contract as she informed them that she want to go back home and said to have filed a case against her. Officials from Pravasi Prajavani are mulling approaching the court to facilitate her return.Challenges“The main problem is that many knowingly use illegal means, such as travelling on tourist visas to work abroad, and even pay hefty amounts to agents to facilitate their travel. That’s how they land in trouble,” said the official from APNRTS, adding, “It is because of this, many refuse to cooperate with investigation after being brought back to India.” Lack of proper paperwork is another major problem. “People do not have a proper contract letter or even a receipt from the registered recruitment agency. While they go through sub-agents from here, after reaching the destination country, they realise that the role they were promised is different from the work they are made to do,” said Swadesh Parkipandla, president, Pravasi Mithra Labour Union. According to him, the only way to address the issue – at least to some extent – is if the govt makes it mandatory for people to take up overseas jobs only through registered recruitment agencies in their home states. “Right now, there is no jurisdiction. Most agencies are based in Chandigarh, Punjab, Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, and their sub-agents or unregistered agents are cheating people,” he added. QUOTE Facilitating the movement of men and women to foreign countries through fraudulent means under the guise of providing employment amounts to human trafficking. Therefore, criminal cases should be registered against all such recruiters—whether licensed or unlicensed—under Sections 143 and 144 of the BNS wherever the facts disclose offences of trafficking for exploitation. – Bheem Reddy Mandha, vice-chairman, Telangana’s NRI advisory committee AP lags in ATRs Despite generating bulk of the complaints, Andhra Pradesh recorded Action Taken Reports (ATRs) in just 35 cases, even as Telangana reported ATRs in 99 cases, indicating relatively better follow-up despite receiving far fewer complaints. In fact, according to data tabled in the Lok Sabha, even prosecution was sanctioned in only one case in AP. In Telangana, no such sanctions were issued. Officials said that every state receives a list of complaints from the MEA once every three months about victims who approach Indian missions abroad after being cheated, including those seeking assistance to return to India. Police are then tasked with investigating these cases. They often hit a roadblock due to non-cooperation of complainants.Graphics:Andhra Pradesh alone accounts for nearly 37% of the 4,000 complaints reported across the country during the three-year period between 2023 and 2025.As per the data, most complaints are received from NRIs in Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Cambodia, Malaysia and Bahrain, among others.
