Archive · 10 Aug 2026
Kolkata youths promised Turkey jobs trafficked to Uzbekistan instead
Two young men from Kolkata wanted well-paying jobs abroad.
A job agency said it could send them to Turkey.
It took about two lakh rupees from each of them.
Instead, they were put on planes to Uzbekistan.
Their papers were only tourist visas, not work permits.
In Uzbekistan, they had to work as delivery riders and got just one meal a day.
The hotel written on their papers did not exist, so they had to pay for their own rooms.
One of them was arrested for working without a proper visa.
Afraid of more trouble, they escaped to Kazakhstan and later found their way home.
After the young men complained to the police, two people from the agency were arrested.
A Thakurpukur placement agency allegedly promised two Kolkata youths high-paying jobs in Turkey but sent them to Uzbekistan instead.
The agency reportedly collected Rs 2 lakh from each youth and sent fake visa documents via WhatsApp before taking their passports.
In Uzbekistan, the youths were forced to work as delivery personnel with only one meal per day, and the hotel named on their visa documents did not exist.
One youth was arrested for working on a tourist visa; both later fled to Kazakhstan through an illegal route with a broker's help before returning to Kolkata.
Kolkata Police arrested two agency associates following the complaint, and a court remanded them to three days of police custody.
- Who
- Two youths from Kolkata's Ekbalpur area who were victimized by a Thakurpukur placement agency; Kunal Agarwal, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime), confirmed two arrests.
- What
- The youths were promised jobs in Turkey but were trafficked to Uzbekistan on tourist visas, where they were forced to work as delivery personnel under harsh conditions.
- When
- The article does not provide a specific date for the incident.
- Where
- Kolkata (Ekbalpur and Thakurpukur), Delhi, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan.
- Why
- The agency allegedly sought to profit by collecting Rs 2 lakh from each youth with false job and visa promises.
- Complaint location
- Zero FIR at Ekbalpur Police Station, transferred to Thakurpukur Police Station
- Money collected
- Rs 2 lakh from each youth
- Promised destination
- Turkey
- Actual destination
- Uzbekistan (on tourist visas)
- Working conditions
- Forced to work as delivery personnel; one meal per day
- Arrests
- Two individuals associated with the agency
- Police custody
- Three days, ordered by the court
- Police official quoted
- Kunal Agarwal, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime), Kolkata Police