Rivalry angle in wrongful detention of nurses at KIA

The wrongful detention of 32 nurses at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) bound to Armenia for study purpose has taken a twist.

It has now transpired that a man who runs a foreign language learning institute in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, connived with two staffers of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) in Bengaluru and created problem to Tony Tom over business rivalry.

Tom runs Hopesyn Education International in Mangaluru.

The nurses from Kerala were scheduled to fly to Yerevan to enrol for a 2-month course to learn German at the University of Traditional Medicine Republic of Armenia (UTMRA) with genuine travel documents.

The nurses and Tom were detained during wee hours of November
27 at the KIA on the claims that he was trafficking the nurses.

“My son-in-law’s business rival plotted the incident projecting it as trafficking of nurses. He convinced his two acquaintances from Kerala serving in the IB that Tom was involved in the trafficking,” Tom’s father-in-law Roy Abraham told DH.

However, Abraham neither disclosed the name of the rival nor his institute.

Candidates from Tom’s rival’s institute failed to get nursing jobs abroad. Meanwhile, Tom arranged a 2-month course for learning German in Armenia. The first batch was sent to Armenia. There were 32 candidates for the second batch to pursue the course in Armenia.

The rival viewed Tom’s arrangements as blocks to his business. He told his acquaintances in the IB that Tom was trafficking the nurses. The message was passed on to the immigration staff who detained the nurses and Tom.

Based on communication, the BIAL police booked Tom under IPC sections 370 (trafficking), 420 (cheating) and 465 (forgery).

“The nurses were made to sit on the floor and not allowed to use phones. They were not allowed to use restrooms and given breakfast,” Abraham added.

Tom’s wife escorted the nurses back to Kerala after they were released.

“Intelligence Bureau, immigration and the police staff acted on a false alert and
did not verify facts,” he charged.

The UTMRA has confirmed that 32 nurses were visiting to learn the German language. A police team is gathering details on Tom’s institute in Mangaluru.

Tom has been remanded to judicial custody.