Chennai: With more than 40 people from Tamil Nadu trapped in Myanmar’s Myawaddy area after being lured into IT jobs, the parents and relatives have again appealed to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to take up the matter with the Centre.
At least 13 IT professionals from Tamil Nadu, who were under the captivity of armed guards in Myawaddy after being lured into the trap of high paying IT jobs, have been rescued by the Government of India and brought back home. The parents and relatives of the remaining 40 people from Tamil Nadu said that they were thankful to see the 13 reach safely back to the state, and wanted the Chief Minister to intervene and bring back the remaining Tamilians in captivity.
Around 300 IT professionals from various states, including Tamil Nadu and Kerala were taken to Myawaddy, where they have been kept as hostages and forced to work for porn sites and fake cryptocurrency sites. The protesting Indians were physically assaulted and many were injured.
They were given poor food and administered electric shocks if they tried to escape from custody. According to the information available from Myawaddy, the rebels are now asking the Indians under custody to cough up money anywhere between Rs 1.50 lakh to 2.0 lakh for their release.
One of the IT professionals, who was in captivity and brought back to Chennai on Wednesday. while speaking to IANS on conditions of strict anonymity said, “We cannot reveal our names now as it would affect the lives of those who are under captivity. We were tortured and denied medical treatment and we were starving for many days. I was recruited from Chennai by a Dubai-based agent who promised me the sky. On reaching there we were taken by road from Bangkok airport and we later came to know that it was Myawaddy and that armed rebels were having a major say in that place.”
He said that they were told to speak to High Networth Individuals in the UK, the US, and even India and asked them to deposit in cryptocurrencies and once they deposit above 60,000 USD, the Indians were asked to destroy their SIM cards and replace them with new ones.
Sources in the Tamil Nadu government told IANS that the state government has taken all the necessary steps and is coordinating with the Centre to get another batch of IT professionals released from their captivity. The state department of Rehabilitation and Welfare of Non-Resident Tamils has also taken up the matter before the Chief Minister and said that the state government was coordinating with the Union External Affairs ministry to bring the IT professionals back to India.
–IANS
Comments are closed.