The Shocking Disappearance of Domestic Workers in India: The Bangladeshi Link Exposed
- Neha Kumari
- Jul 31
- 3 min read
Domestic workers, cooks, maids, cleaners form an indispensable part of the routine of middle-class and upper-class Indian household. However, in the last few months, a horrible pattern that is starting to appear in some cities; domestic workers are vanishing into thin air.
Families get up and the place is empty and they have lost their valuables and the person they trusted are not there anymore.
And now, there is an indication of a damning transnational network, which is pointing its roots as far as Bangladesh.
An Obvious Pattern that is Never Discovered
To start with, these were isolated incidents. A servant girl goes and does not come back. A chef disappears in the middle of an agreement. A nanny goes away without a warning. However, shortly after local police stations started a report, a cold pattern was depicted:
A lot of missing workers had fake papers and most had different ID evidence.
Some had been lodged by unauthenticated individual representatives.
What would they have in common?
They turned out to be quite a number of illegal immigrants of Bangladesh under false Indian names.
The Network functioning How the Network Works
Not that it is just a small group of people who managed to cross borders, but it is an organized racket. As a general principle, this is how it usually goes:
Illegal entry through porous borders: The influx of the Bangladesh nationals is largely through the porous borders of West Bengal and Assam.
Middlemen offer fake identities and ration cards with the assistance of local officials who are corrupt.
They get into houses all around Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Bengaluru and are co-opted as house helps via backdoor, adopting them as domestic servants.
In some weeks or months after establishing a certain level of trust they disappear either carrying some cash, jewels or even some sensitive documents.
Most of them undergo a name-change and move to new cities to start the process anew.
The Reason This Is Deeply Dangerous
This is not concerning minor thefts. This incites huge national security:
These illegal short term immigrants are going around the Indian families without background checks.
They are also nearly impossible to trace because they may vanish without any digital footprints.
At times they have even been connected to much greater smuggling or spying networks who employ these runaway maids as being soft-entry points.
It is sneaking into our lives and lives a silent and invisible death.
Actions of Authorities
The media pressure and the outcry on social media has caused law enforcement agencies to take the situation seriously.
They are also carrying out special verification drives in few cities in the country especially among domestic workers.
Some of these placement agencies have been closed down because they are operating illegally.
The Intelligence Bureau (IB) has raised the concern with the possibility that it may be a cross-border infiltration plan.
However, the issue is not resolved by far, as at the same time, there is no central register of domestic workers and tighter controls at the borders.
The Actions Households Need to Take
However disturbing that may be, there are precautions that Indian households must undertake:
Recruit only with the help of registered agencies and make sure that the agencies carry police verification.
Check all Identities and addresses on their own, do not use Aadhaar or PAN to check the identity.
Do not use cash, push them to use digital cash and traceability.
Restrict entrance into the house - particularly with regard to valuables and secret documents.
Be willing to report atrocious actions -- even when no crime is actually committed.
The Bigger Picture What Does Not Happen Is Vanishing Maids
More than a security threat is being revealed during this crisis. This is a symptom of free movement, institutional defects and human desperation. In spite of the fact that most immigrants cross over with a greater purpose of getting a better life, they end up netted somewhere in the exploitation webs by agents and the gangs who feast on their invisibility.
However, it should not be left to individual and the workers themselves. The government needs to bring in:
A national bureau of domestic workers
Biometric checkout in the course of job employment
Tight crackdowns on placement agencies
International discussion with the neighboring nation of Bangladesh to restrain human trafficking
Final Thoughts
The disappearance of maids, cooks, and cleaners is not a matter of local housewives only: it is a national concern that has deep-seated roots. We, as societies, as citizens, and as a nation need to demand accountability, regulation and authentic protection.
There are implications because there may be a broken system behind every absent maid, a bigger racket, a more insidious threat that we cannot afford to turn away.
📅 By News Anek Digital Desk | July 31, 2025
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