Hyderabad : The body of a woman from Hyderabad who died in Saudi Arabia earlier this month due to alleged torture by her employer was Friday brought home.
The mortal remains of Asima Khatoon (34) were brought from Riyadh by the Etihad Airways.
Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT) leader Amjadullah Khan Khalid, on behalf of the family, received the body at the airport. It was later buried at a graveyard in the old city of Hyderabad.
Asima, a divorcee and resident of Dabeerpura in old Hyderabad, had gone to Saudi Arabia in December last year. She died at King Saud Hospital for Chest Diseases in Riyadh on May 2 but her family here came to know three days later.
In the medical report received by the family, tuberculosis is cited as the cause of her death.
Asima’s family, however, claims she was healthy as proved by the medical tests she underwent before her departure
Asima’s mother Ghousia Begum told IANS that Asima had been making phone calls to tell her about the torture and pleading her to rescue her.
Ghousia said she approached local police station here in March but nothing was done. A letter from NRI cell in state secretariat to Indian embassy in Riyadh was sent on May 2, inquiring about the whereabouts of Asima. She died the same day.
However, Asima’s family came to know about her death at a Riyadh hospital on May 5.
Police here registered a criminal case against Muskan, a broker who had sent Asima to Riyadh to work there as domestic help on a monthly salary of Rs.20,000.
Asima’s mother said Abdul Rahman Ali Mohammed, the employer, never paid her the salary.
MBT leader Khalid said the employer has given no compensation to the family except her five month salary.
He said the Telangana government extended no help to the family. He urged NRI Affairs Minister K.T. Rama Rao to help the family in at least filing a criminal case against the employer.