Govt should help 15 Indians stranded in Iraq, says father of a victim

Nizamabad (Telangana) [India], Jan 16 (ANI): The government should help the 15 Indians who are stranded in Iraq and bring them back to India, said Rajanna, father of Krishna, one of the victims who has been stranded in Iraq after being duped by an agent on the pretext of employment.
"They went to Iraq to work and they are now stranded there. They are struggling to come back to India. They are not even having food to eat. The government should help them and bring them back to India," Rajanna said.
The father further added that the agent charged around one lakh 30 thousand rupees for the visa and now he has disappeared.
"The agent is not even picking up his call. There is no provision of food, water or any proper housing facilities for my son. We have appealed to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to get my son back to India, along with the other 14 stranded as soon as possible," Rajanna added.
In a video on Wednesday, the men revealed that they were duped by an agent off around Rs 2 lakh each, who sent them to Iraq on the pretext of getting them a work permit in the country.
"We came to Iraq from India after giving 1.5 lakh rupees each to the agent, after coming here the agent again asked for more 50,000 rupees for making Iqama and we paid. Later, we got to know that the agent has cheated us by sending us to Iraq on a visit visa. The agent in Iraq is not responding to us and we are facing crisis here without proper food and water. I request External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to help us get back to India," the men said in the video.
Speaking to ANI over the phone, Nizamabad activist Basanth Reddy, who is helping the victims, stated that 15 people from the district had left for Iraq in September 2018 to work there after an agent promised them good jobs.
Reddy has also urged the Indian government to help the ones who are stranded, reiterating that the victims have run out of money and are struggling for life.
Meanwhile, Mahender, the brother-in-law of another victim, named Limbadri, stranded in Iraq said that the latter does not even have enough money to pay for his tickets or pay the fine imposed by Iraq authorities on the victims for staying back in the Gulf nation despite their visa expiry.
"He does not have any money, not even of paying for his tickets or any fine. So we have sought for the monetary help from the Indian government to pay the authorities in Iraq and somehow get him back to the country as soon as possible. At the same time, we also thank activist Basanth Reddy who has been supplying gas cylinders and food to the stranded ones," Mahender added. (ANI)