We feel betrayed from all sides, says one of the abducted Indian's sister

Amritsar (Punjab) [India], Mar 20 (ANI): Sister of one of the Indians killed in Iraq's Mosul, on Tuesday said that the families of the victims felt betrayed as they were not informed as soon as the Government received the information about the death of their loved ones.

Gurpinder Kaur, sister of Manjinder Singh, who was among 39 Indians killed told ANI, "We should have been contacted as soon as they received the information. Had that been done it would not have been such a huge blow. We feel betrayed from all sides."

Earlier in the day, External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj confirmed that all the 39 Indians, who went missing in Mosul in the year 2014, were killed by the Islamic State (IS).

The sister of Manjinder said, "Yes, she was supposed to announce this in Parliament first, but he was part of our family. All she cared about was her reputation. She used to say they're like her children if that's the case where's her sorrow?" Kaur said.

Kaur also alleged that the Government provided them false information.

Kaur demanded the DNA reports and said, "We had been running from pillar to post since four years and now we're being told via TV that we lost one of our own."

"Why did she keep saying they're alive and she'll bring them back? She could've said she'll bring them back only if they're alive. I want to see DNA reports," she added.

Following Swaraj's Rajya Sabha address on Tuesday, some of the families expressed anguish that till now Swaraj continued to assure them that the captured Indians were alive.

However, while addressing the media, Swaraj said that the government did not keep anyone in the dark on the issue of 39 Indians killed in Iraq's Mosul.

"We had been saying that we neither have the evidence of them being alive nor the evidence of them being dead. We maintained this in 2014 and 2017 and we did not keep anyone in dark. We have not given false hopes to anyone," Swaraj said.

The 39 persons, most of whom hailed from Punjab, were working on projects near Mosul when they were kidnapped during their evacuation. (ANI)