Police arrest man who trafficked Mangaluru nurse to Saudi

Jacintha Mendonsa, a nurse, was 'sold' as maid to a wealthy man in Saudi She has three teenaged children back home near Karkala The arrested is identified as James D'Mello

After the outrage over the reports of police letting an accused in the Karkala woman trafficking case, the City police have finally taken James D'Mello (35) into custody. D'Mello, a resident of Kulashekhar near Mangaluru was instrumental in sending Jacintha Mendonsa (46), a nurse as a domestic maid to Saudi Arabia. Jacintha hails from Pernal in Karkala taluk in Udupi district.

It is reported that D'Mello had lured Jacintha with a 'nurse' job offer in Doha, Qatar but sold her as a domestic maid to a wealthy man Saudi Arabia. Jacintha reached Mumbai, and from there she landed in Qatar via Saudi Arabia on June 19, 2016, with the help of an agent, Shabha Khan.

Jacintha was made to take care of 10 children of her kafil's three wives and was required to work for over 26 hours a day, it is reported. This took a toll on Jacintha's health, and she fell ill.

After a report had appeared on her plight, External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj brought this to the notice of the Indian Embassy in Riyadh and directed the Indian Ambassador to rescue her. However, a kafil who is holding Jacintha has reportedly demanded 24,000 Saudi Riyals which is Rs 4.34 to let her go free.

Jacintha who got an opportunity to speak to her family members in last December reportedly explained her plight to her children. "My mother has been sold for Rs five lakh by an agent. She is suffering terribly in Saudi Arabia. She is ill and is being tortured by the kafil," Jacintha's son Vinroy had told The Times of India.

Although the family complained to the police in January this year, the police reportedly questioned James and let him go free. However, after media reports and the Human Rights Protection Forum, Udupi took up the matter, the police were forced to act on this.