32 Nurses Studied in Mluru Rescued at BIA in Suspected Human Trafficking, One Arrested
32 Kerala Nurses Studied in Mangaluru Rescued at Kempegowda International Airport-Bengaluru Airport in Suspected Human Trafficking- One Man Arrested. The arrested person is Tony Tom, who runs an education consultancy called ‘Hopesyn Education International’in Kankanady, Mangaluru.
Mangaluru: In a suspected case of human trafficking, 32 women nursing graduates were rescued at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru on Tuesday. The students were being taken to Armenia and Germany, under the pretext of attending a course in University of Traditional Medicine of Armenia (UTMA). All these young nurses are from Kerala, but all of them had done their nursing course in Mangaluru.
Tony Tom, the main accused behind the alleged trafficking racket, was arrested. A case was filed for attempted human trafficking. It was based on the complaint by KIA immigration officials. According to the police, Tom runs an education consultancy called Hopesyn Education International in Kankanady, Mangaluru. The women got in touch with Tom through a newspaper advertisement that promised jobs to nursing students in reputed hospitals in Germany if they learnt German. In his ad, Tom promised the girls admission to UTMA to learn the language.
The nurses along with Tom reached the airport on Monday night. The immigration officials at the airport doubted the existence of such a course as UTMA is a medical science university and the women were taken for a course in German. They immediately contacted the Bengaluru International Airport Ltd (BIAL) police for interrogation.
Speaking to media, Ms Kala Krishnaswamy, deputy commissioner of police (northeast division) had said that, based on the reports given by immigration and BIAL officers, a case was filed. She added that each woman was asked to pay $1,200 to Tom for the course and Rs 30,000 for travel visa. Commenting on the arrest, she said she wasn’t sure what Tom would have done with the girls in Armenia. “We booked him for attempted human trafficking and arrested him. We have recorded the statements of all 32 women. We’re not sure what Tom would have done with the girls in Armenia if there’s no such course at UTMA. Tom was accompanying the women who came to the airport on Monday night to catch a flight for Armenia around 4 am on Tuesday. Immigration officials suspected foul play as they doubted the very existence of such a course in the university. Most of the women had studied in Mangaluru. Tom runs an education consultancy in Mangaluru and offered to facilitate the study at UTMA” added DCP.
The cops have booked him for attempted human trafficking and arrested him. The police are checking Tom’s background. So far, it has been established that he is from Kerala and runs an education consultancy in Mangaluru. Investigation is still going on.
With inputs from Nooyz.com
