MEERUT: Twenty Indian labourerspromised jobs in Thailandhave been enslaved in Myanmar and are seeking assistance from the ministry of external affairs (THING) to secure their release. Some of their family members confirmed this to TOI on Friday and said they have jointly taken it up with Pradeep Chaudhary, the BJP MP from Kairana who has in turn written to external affairs minister S Jaishankar.
Two videos, purportedly shot by one of the workers, have emerged on social media showing their plight in Myanmar. In a chilling sequence, one of them says “a person has died, and a girl is battling severe head injuries”.
The workers, lured by an agent based in Dubai, are now being held “captive in Myanmar, where they are badly exploited every day”. Kuldeep Kumar, one of the “captives”, shared the two videos describing their suffering and displaying injuries inflicted on his fellow workers, pleading for intervention from the Centre. He warned they might resort to desperate measures if help does not arrive soon.
In an 83-second video, Kuldeep said, “Our families have approached MEA but have received no assistance as yet despite our videos being shared widely on social media. One man has already died here, and they also have a girl (with them) who has suffered head injuries because of thrashing. We could be next. They will either kill us, or we will have to take drastic steps.”
Kuldeep said, “We are forced to work 18 hours a day and given only two bowls of rice. If we refuse to comply, we are beaten and forced to run 10km as punishment. We desperately urge MEA to rescue us.” His brother Rahul Kumar told TOI, “Kuldeep secretly recorded these videos with a hidden phone. He left Saharanpur on April 22, travelling then from Delhi to Bangkok. From there, he was taken to Mae Sot airport, a stone’s throw from the border, blindfolded and taken to a forest in Myanmar. They were forced into slavery and made to work in an online fraud operation.”
Elaborating further, he said, “My brother along with others were taken in vehicles that moved continuously for almost 5-6 hours giving them the impression that the site of their captivity was about a hundred km from the airport. But it was Myawaddy, which is just 5 km from Mae Sot airport but inside Myanmar. Now the company in Myanmar that has them in captivity says they have bought the Indians for $7,500 each.”
Chaudhary, who has dashed off a letter to Jaishankar requesting intervention, told TOI, “MEA officials informed me that they have some leads from the Indian embassy in Myanmar and are planning a rescue operation. We will soon have them back.”
Two videos, purportedly shot by one of the workers, have emerged on social media showing their plight in Myanmar. In a chilling sequence, one of them says “a person has died, and a girl is battling severe head injuries”.
The workers, lured by an agent based in Dubai, are now being held “captive in Myanmar, where they are badly exploited every day”. Kuldeep Kumar, one of the “captives”, shared the two videos describing their suffering and displaying injuries inflicted on his fellow workers, pleading for intervention from the Centre. He warned they might resort to desperate measures if help does not arrive soon.
In an 83-second video, Kuldeep said, “Our families have approached MEA but have received no assistance as yet despite our videos being shared widely on social media. One man has already died here, and they also have a girl (with them) who has suffered head injuries because of thrashing. We could be next. They will either kill us, or we will have to take drastic steps.”
Kuldeep said, “We are forced to work 18 hours a day and given only two bowls of rice. If we refuse to comply, we are beaten and forced to run 10km as punishment. We desperately urge MEA to rescue us.” His brother Rahul Kumar told TOI, “Kuldeep secretly recorded these videos with a hidden phone. He left Saharanpur on April 22, travelling then from Delhi to Bangkok. From there, he was taken to Mae Sot airport, a stone’s throw from the border, blindfolded and taken to a forest in Myanmar. They were forced into slavery and made to work in an online fraud operation.”
Elaborating further, he said, “My brother along with others were taken in vehicles that moved continuously for almost 5-6 hours giving them the impression that the site of their captivity was about a hundred km from the airport. But it was Myawaddy, which is just 5 km from Mae Sot airport but inside Myanmar. Now the company in Myanmar that has them in captivity says they have bought the Indians for $7,500 each.”
Chaudhary, who has dashed off a letter to Jaishankar requesting intervention, told TOI, “MEA officials informed me that they have some leads from the Indian embassy in Myanmar and are planning a rescue operation. We will soon have them back.”
