The three women were illegally sent to Syria in November, police said (Representational)
The Mizoram Police has rescued and brought back three Mizo women who were engaged as housemaids and stranded in Syria for about 20 months, an officer said on Sunday.
The three women had left Mizoram in 2022 and began to face hardships soon after they landed in Syria in November of that year, he said.
After intense efforts by Mizoram police and Indian Embassy authorities and fulfilling all legal formalities, the three women left Syria on August 20 and were safely brought back home on Saturday, the police officer said.
While two women hailed from the Hnahthial district, the other one is from the Champhai district, he said.
The three women were illegally sent to Syria by a private placement agency in November to work as housemaids, he said.
Soon after they reached Syria on November 6, 2022, the three women began to face issues from their employers.
Chief Minister Lalduhoma and Home Minister K Sapdanga have taken the issue very seriously, and with their direction, initiatives have been taken to rescue and repatriate the three Mizo women from Syria since May, he said.
Court cases were also involved in the matter.
During the process, the state government was in constant touch with the Indian embassy and Syrian authorities.
After the legal cases were won, the Indian embassy in Damascus gave shelter to the three women for three weeks, and when the exit visas were issued, they were brought to New Delhi on August 20 and then to Aizawl on Saturday, the police officer said.
They will be sent to their villages within this week to be reunited with their families, he added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)