Stranded Indian Workers rescued from Kurd areas of Iraq

New Delhi, July 3 (UNI) As many as 78 Indians, most of them from Andhra Pradesh, were rescued from Kurd areas of Iraq by the Indian Embassy in Baghdad and were flown home.

About 25 workers were brought back to Delhi yesterday and today and were given free accommodation by Andhra Pradesh Bhawan authorities on humanitarian grounds.

Union Minister of State for Defence M M Pallam Raju who coordinated their rescue, called on the victims of extortion and trickery to inquire about their well-being while many of them broke down narrating their plight.

Later talking to newspersons, Mr Raju said the incident was a lesson for all citizens to avoid the human traffickers. He would urge the Home Ministry to instruct the State Police to act against unscrupulous agents and touts for fleecing the victims and ensure that they got back the money.

Lured by the promise of high wages for manual labour in West Asia many of these workers not very literate sold off their possessions or borrowed heavily to facilitate their journey abroad.

They even signed blank papers and they were forced to work without wages. Their plight became known to one of their parents in India who was unsure of their location. They were tracked after Mr Raju took the initiative and rescued them with the help of Ministry of External Affairs, Andhra Pradesh sources said.

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