Woman from Nagpur alleges Pune job firm sold her to Portugal beer shop owner | Pune News

Pune: A 28-year-old commerce graduate from Nagpur, alleged that she was sold to a beer shop owner in Portugal for prostitution and forced labour.The woman was promised a cashier’s job abroad by a Pune-based job consultancy. She was in Portugal from May 22 to June 30. During which, she was allegedly forced to work as conservancy staff at the beer shop from 8am to 11pm. She approached the Pune crime branch nearly a month after returning home, alleging that the accused had threatened to harm her husband or implicate him in a false molestation case.A case was registered against the accused under sections 308 (extortion), 143 (trafficking of a person), 127 (wrongful confinement), 316 (criminal breach of trust) and 318 (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).An officer from Airport police said, “The woman had been looking for job opportunities on social media. In Dec last year, she came across a job consultancy that claimed to have a 100% success rate. Upon contacting them, she was asked to come to Pune in Feb 2026. The woman running the firm told her that jobs for cashiers, accountants and workers were available with chocolate companies in Portugal, the Netherlands, Spain, Denmark and Poland. She was assured a salary of Rs1.5 lakh per month and a three-year work permit. The accused woman demanded Rs 8 lakh for herself and Rs 3 lakh towards visa, stay and insurance charges. She also assured the complainant that her husband could join her on a dependent visa after three months.”The complainant accepted the offer and transferred Rs 8 lakh to the accused after prematurely closing her husband’s and in-laws’ fixed deposits. After completing the visa and other formalities, the woman landed in Madrid on May 21. She was then taken to Portugal by road. After reaching there, a man picked her up and locked her in a room. He and his accomplices allegedly snatched her passport and demanded Rs 40,000 for returning it.“She was told that she would work as a cashier in a supermarket, but was instead sent to a beer shop, where she was forced to do cleaning work. When she complained about it, the man told her that she had been sold to the beer shop owner and would have to follow his instructions. She was also told that the Pune-based consultancy had sold her to them,” he said.The officer said the woman somehow stayed there until June 29. She then left Portugal and reached Madrid. From Madrid, she flew to Doha and then reached New Delhi.“After reaching home, the woman continued to receive emails from the firm, offering her another job and demanding Rs 3 lakh. The accused also threatened to harm her husband,” the officer said. After receiving her complaint, the case was transferred to the Pune crime branch. “We have begun our investigation,” a crime branch officer said.