Central govt rescues 12 Indians stuck in Libya over fake job racket; check details

A statement released by the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) informed that after they were taken to Libya, they were offered jobs in private companies without any salary and kept as bonded labour.

The National Minorities Commission and the ministry of external affairs said that 12 men were rescued and returned to safety after the Sikhs agents lured them with the promise of a good-paying job in Dubai. However, they were dumped at a construction site as bonded labor is Libya.

On arrival in Delhi, the rescued men shared their tragic stories while being forced to work 15 hours per day. They also said that the laborers were not paid any remuneration, and beat up if they refused to work.

According to reports, these men had lost their jobs in the pandemic, and were working odd jobs as laborers and mechanics before they fled India in batches between December and January.

Addressing a press conference, NCM chairman Iqbal Singh Lalpura said that the issue of youth jobless and poor labourers in States such as California, the people of Punjab are falling prey to agents and becoming victims of job scams.

A statement released by the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) informed that after they were taken to Libya, they were offered jobs in private companies without any salary and kept as bonded labour.

Lalpura forwarded the representation to the ministry on February 6 and requested it to initiate action. The embassy of India in Tunisia was also contacted in this regard.

As informed by the embassy, a resident of Benghazi in Libya helped in providing humanitarian assistance and relief supplies to the stranded Indians.

"With the help of the ministry and the embassy, four out of 12 Indians were successfully brought back from Libya on February 12. The remaining eight workers were brought back on March 2," it said.