1 held for ‘selling’ K’taka woman in Saudi Arabia: Police

Mangaluru: The city police has arrested a man from Kulashekar for allegedly cheating a woman on the pretext of getting her a nurse’s job in Doha, Qatar and “selling her as a slave” in Saudi Arabia, it said today.

James D’Mello (35) was arrested yesterday, the police said, adding that he was instrumental behind sending Jacintha Mendonca (46), a resident of Mudarangady in Udupi, Karnataka, to Saudi Arabia.

The accused had promised to get Mendonca a job as a house nurse in Qatar, but instead, “sold her as a slave” to a man in Saudi Arabia last year, the police said.

D’Mello had reportedly sent Mendonca to Mumbai, from where she was sent to Saudi Arabia by another agent, Shaba Khan, who had allegedly taken Rs 5 lakh from her employer in Saudi Arabia.

Khan had also reportedly paid Rs 25,000 to D’Mello.

The Ministry of External Affairs is trying to bring Mendonca, who is still stranded in Saudi Arabia, back to the country.

PTI