When people travel to another country in search of better opportunities, they bring countless dreams, hopes and aspirations from their motherland. However, these ambitions are dashed when what the person expected to be a place where his dreams would turn into reality becomes an epicentre of harassment and oppression. This is exactly what has been happening with Arpit Kumar Pandey, a resident of Daulatpur in Gonda district of Uttar Pradesh.
According to the information obtained by OpIndia, Arpit, who used to work in Delhi, went to the West African nation Sierra Leone in 2020 to work at S.V. Electricals shop at 73 B, Siaka Stevens St, Freetown, Sierra Leone, owned by an Indian origin man named Suresh Vatnani. For the first four months, everything was going fine and Arpit Kumar Pandey was given his salary on time, however, after that his employer allegedly refused to give him his salary saying that he would give all the money together as a lump sum payment. Since then, contrary to the alleged assurance given by Vatnani, Arpit has not received his salary.
Moreover, the victim has alleged that he is being tortured by his employer and has been made to work like a bonded labourer illegally.
Arpit being mistreated by employer in Sierra Leone, passport and original documents taken away: Victim’s father writes in a letter to EAM MoS
The victim’s father, Moolchand Pandey, has appealed to the Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh to bring his son back to India. In his appeal, Pandey said that the operators of a travel agency named Starlite Tour & Travels in Ajmer Rajasthan have “misled” and “trapped” his son in the garb of offering a better package. Notably, this travel agency is run by Ajay Rakani.
In his letter to External Affairs Minister (MoS), Kirti Vardhan Singh, dated 15th of August 2024, as seen by OpIndia, Moolchand Pandey said that his son Arpit Kumar Pandey has been working there in the shop of Suresh Kumar Vatnani for about 44 months, who paid him the decided salary for initial four months and stopped paying the same afterwards. Pandey said that Vatnani is neither giving salary to Arpit nor letting him return to India. Moreover, Vatnani is said to have confiscated Arpit’s passport and other original documents.
“Thus, since 22.10.2020, Mr. Suresh Kumar Vatnani, Indian origin, passport number ER069544 has illegally kept Mr. Arpit Kumar as a bonded labourer in his shop S.V. Electricals, 738 Saika Stevens Street, Freetown, Republic of Sierra Leone, for the last 44 months and has unauthorizedly snatched his passport and other original documents and kept them with him,” Pandey said in his letter to EAM MoS.
Pandey further informed the Minister that Vatnani is allegedly meting out inhumane treatment to his son in Sierra Leone and has not been providing him adequate food and clothing, and beating him daily. In a similar case to Arpit, another Indian national Shubham Mahaur, among some other youths, is also allegedly harassed by the owner of S.V. Electricals.
The victim’s father said that when he confronted Starlite Tour & Travels owners Ajay and Vijay Rakani about Vatnani’s inhuman treatment of Arpit, they said that they send boys of Indian origin to work at S.V. Electricals shop in Freetown, Sierra Leone only on the condition that they will work according to the wishes of Suresh Vatnani. Both Ajay and Vijay Rakani asked Moolchand Pandey to ask his son to follow Suresh Vatnani’s instructions.
The victim’s family are now scared for their son’s safety and have requested the government to provide Arpit with the necessary assistance to return to India and ensure that his full salary is paid.
On 14th June 2024, the affected family’s lawyer Ravi Prakash Pandey, who happens to be the victim’s cousin, wrote to the Indian High Commission in Sierra Leone informing him about the matter and sought immediate intervention. OpIndia has a copy of the letter.
Advocate Ravi Prakash Pandey also raised the matter with Minister Kirti Vardhan Singh’s office via email. In the email sent by Minister Singh’s office to Pandey in July, it was informed the matter was taken up by the Indian Embassy in Sierra Leone on Singh’s direction. The Minister’s office said that both Arpit Kumar Pandey and his boss Suresh Vatnani had mutually negotiated acceptable settlement. Moreover, the family was informed that Vatnani had assured that he would facilitate an air ticket for Arpit soon.
“As directed by Hon’ble MoS, Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh, the matter was taken up with our Embassy in Sierra Leone, who met Shri Arpit and his employer S.V. Electricals SL Ltd. As per the understanding of the Mission, both of them had negotiated a mutually acceptable settlement and it was informed that the employer will facilitate an air ticket for Mr. Arpit soon,” the email seen by OpIndia reads.
However, Vatnani has not returned Arpit’s documents and provided him air ticket for his return to India till now. Consequently, the victim’s family and their counsel recently raised the matter again with the ministry informing them about the false promises Vatnani made regarding Arpit’s repatriation. The victim’s family has said that Arpit is being mistreated by his employer regularly and they are deeply worried and concerned about Arpit’s safety.
On the 21st of August 2024, Arpit Kumar Pandey’s mother Urmila Pandey complained to Nawabganj Police Station and sought the police’s help in bringing Arpit back to India. OpIndia has a copy of the complaint letter addressed to the Nawabganj Police Station in charge.
Arpit’s heart-wrenching appeal to the Indian government
In the latest video accessed by OpIndia which Arpit recorded from the shop where he works in Sierra Leone, he said that he came to Freetown in Sierra Leone to work at S.V. Electricals.
“It has been four years since I started working here, I am neither getting any salary nor being allowed to go back to India. When I ask them about it, I am threatened that I will be implicated in a bogus case and jailed here. I am also being threatened to be assaulted and that my phone will be snatched away,” Arpit said in a video.
He further stated that his employer is forcing him to work every day with no weekly off and even on Sunday he is forced to work. “I appeal to the Indian government and our foreign minister to take me out of here. I appeal with folded hands, please save me from here…”, Arpit added.
Threat calls, fake claims and more: How Arpit is being held hostage at his workplace
In an audio call recording shared by the victim’s family with OpIndia, Arpit said that his employer forced him to call his family and speak to them as per the employer’s instructions. Vatnani also allegedly threatened Arpit. He said that when Arpit’s family told Vatnani that they were in touch with an Indian minister, Vatnani said that he would call the police and get Arpit arrested. Vatnani also allegedly demanded Rs 11 lakh from Arpit’s family.
Arpit said that he went to the Indian Embassy in Sierra Leone seeking their help, however, the officials spoke to Arpit in Vatnani’s presence who assured the officials that he would send Arpit back to India. Vatnani, however, reneged on his promise. The victim also alleged that Vatnani threatened to handle him in his own way if he didn’t comply with his demands. Arpit added that Vatnani can do anything with him now.
“You will not listen to me. I will ask the Embassy officials to step aside, and then I know how to handle it in my way,” Vatnani said as claimed by Arpit.
Suresh Vatnani was interrogated by Sierra Leone’s Immigration Department in 2008
Back in 2008, Suresh Vatnani was questioned by the Immigration Department in Sierra Leone. He was picked up for questioning for allegedly locking up one of his employees Vikas Jagwani for two weeks in a store over claims that Jagwani embezzled his money. A local media report said that Jagwani was allegedly tortured by Vatnani when his employee was held captive for two weeks. Vatnani, however, was released later.
OpIndia spoke to Arpit’s family
Speaking exclusively with OpIndia, Arpit’s mother Urmila Pandey told us that 3 years after working at S.V. Electricals in Freetown, Sierra Leone, when Arpit’s visa expired and he sought to return to India, his employer Suresh Vatnani allegedly claimed that his business suffered losses. Thus, Arpit will have to compensate for his losses and only then he will allow the victim to go back to India. However, Arpit said that it was not his fault. She added that Arpit received salary only four times and when she asked her son to speak to his employer over unfairly withholding his salary, Vatnani allegedly ignored his calls and messages.
The victim’s family has alleged that Arpit’s employer levelled fake allegations against Arpit that he stole items from the shop and sold it to someone else. Vatnani demanded Rs 11 to 12 lakhs from Arpit’s family in exchange for letting the victim return to India. The victim’s mother said that if they had been rich enough to send such a huge amount of money to others, why would they have sent their son to a foreign nation?
Urmila Pandey told us that initially Suresh Vatnani demanded Rs 18 lakh, then Rs 11 lakh, and now has come down to Rs 5 lakh. She said that on the one hand, Vatnani is claiming that he suffered losses, on the other hand he is accusing Arpit of stealing goods from his shop.
“These are all fake claims being levelled against my son. There is a CCTV camera in the shop, my son was going to the shop and from there to his room, this was his fixed routine, how could he have sold the shop’s items to anyone else. He is facing food shortage and other struggles. His salary has also been stopped. He is my only son. We are very poor people”, she said.
OpIndia asked that since Arpit’s visa has expired, how is he staying in Sierra Leone without a valid visa and if the local authorities ever questioned him for the same. In response, Arpit’s mother told us, “He [Arpit] is in the captivity of those people [his employer]. Only if someone goes and inspects the shop they will get to know about what is happening there. They let the boys employed there go only after forcibly keeping them for 8 to 9 years.”
“There is no free time, my son goes to the shop from his room and returns to his room after work, he is not allowed to go anywhere else. Everywhere else employees at least get Sunday offs but my son doesn’t get any day off,” Arpit’s mother said adding that she can hardly talk to her son now since his phone has been taken away. She added that she spoke to Arpit last month for a few minutes. Pandey said that now Arpit has been shifted from the shop to some office where Suresh Vatnani also visits.
Speaking about the role of Starline travel agency, she said that nobody is listening to them. Arpit’s mother said that the agent also sided with Vatnani saying that if the owner has suffered losses, Arpit will have to compensate the same. Hinting that the travel agency could be complicit in the alleged “human trafficking”, Urmila Pandey said that the agency’s agent may have known about what happens when Indian boys are taken to Sierra Leone to work at S.V. Electricals. She added that there was another youth Shubham who worked at the same company and faced the same harassment as Arpit is facing, and he has been brought back to India. Urmila Pandey further said that none of these youth received their salaries after initial payouts and their phones were also taken away.
The victim’s mother added that she has spoken to ministers and local leaders, however, so far, Arpit has not received any assistance.
In her emotional appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, EAM S. Jaishankar and the Indian government, Urmila Pandey said that Arpit is her only son and that she has been struggling for many months to get him back to India. She said that PM Modi and the Indian government should save her son as well as bring him back to India.
