External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar
Credit: PTI Photo
Twenty Indian labourers, who have been enslaved in Myanmar after being duped on the promise of jobs in Thailand, are seeking seeking assistance from the ministry of external affairs (MEA) to secure their release, the Times Of India reported on Saturday.
As per the report, some of the family members have said they have jointly taken the matter to Pradeep Chaudhary, the BJP MP from Kairana who has written to external affairs minister S Jaishankar.
In two videos shot by one of the workers and accessed by TOI, reportedly shows one of them saying that one person has died and one girl is suffering from a major head injury.
In one of the videos shared by Kuldeep Kumar, one of the captives, reportedly pleads for help from the Centre, saying, "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 in the video has said that they (captives) are forced to work for 18 hours a day on just two bowls of rice, If they refuse to comply, they are beaten and forced to run 10km as punishment.
Kuldeep added that they (captives) urge MEA to rescue them.
Kuldeeps brother in ontact with TOI have said "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."
"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," he added.
The BJP MP Pradeep Chaudhary told TOI that MEA officials informed him that MEA have some leads from the Indian embassy in Myanmar and are planning a rescue operation.