The parents put their faith in the UP chairman and agreed to his proposal, and paid him Tk 3.5 lakh to send Rana to Oman.

Rana had just completed his Higher Secondary Certificate examinations that year.

"We arranged Tk 3.2 lakh by selling our land and valuables and the rest by borrowing from relatives and well-wishers," said Alam.

Rana reached Oman on May 15, 2017 -- only to discover all that he was promised were far from what he had to deal with there.

He was forced to work as a cleaner instead of at a car wash, and was not provided decent accommodation and meals.

Rana informed his father of the situation over the phone.

Saiful Islam told the family that he would look into the matter when they contacted him.

However, after the phone call they no longer had any contact with their son, and 43 days later, they were informed that Rana had been critically injured in a road accident in Oman, his mother said.

"But we could not even know his whereabouts and his condition in the foreign land for another 10 months," said Monju Ara.

The parents contacted the Oman Embassy in Dhaka.