The victims are held captive in the Myawaddy region which is not under the control of the Myanmar government and is dominated by armed ethnic groups. Some of the hostages who sent messages to their families called their kidnappers “Malaysian Chinese”.
The matter came to light after a few Tamil the men sent out an SOS video on Saturday, calling on the governments of the Union and Tamil Nadu to save them. They said their employers forced them to work more than 15 hours a day. When they refuse to do illegal work, they are beaten and subjected to electric shocks, they added. The Indian embassy in Yangon, Myanmar issued a notice on July 5 warning against “unscrupulous elements offering jobs”.
On Monday, a Raja Subramanian (60), a fisherman from Karaikalmedu approached the district collector of Karaikal in the UT of Puducherry to save his son who is among the Indian prisoners in Myanmar. Subramanian’s eldest son, Sudhakar, told the story of his brother working as a data entry operator in Dubai.
“Earlier this year, his manager said he had been given a promotion and asked him to move to their office in Thailand. From Thailand, he and many others were illegally taken to Myanmar by road,” he said.
For security reasons, the names of the victims are hidden. “My brother said a few days ago that his employers beat his colleague for refusing to do the illegal work. He sustained severe head injuries that required five stitches. He had his ears torn out, “Sudhakar said.” So far, we have saved over 30 Indians, “a source said.
“Efforts are underway to reclaim the rest of the people through contacts in the business community.” Politicians, including AMMK Secretary General TTV Dhinakaran and ICC Secretary of State R Mutharasan, have urged the Union and Tamil Nadu governments to take measures to bring Indians back from Myanmar.
