Thirty-eight Indian nationals, who were victims of job offers of transnational crime syndicates in the Myawaddy area of Myanmar, were repatriated on Thursday.
Last month, 13, who were among the group trapped in the Myawaddy area, had been rescued. In September, 32 Indians were rescued from Myawaddy following joint efforts by Indian missions in Myanmar and Thailand.
“@IndiainMyanmar today repatriated 38 Indian nationals who were victims of job offers of transnational crime syndicates in the Myawaddy area of Myanmar,” the Indian mission in Myanmar tweeted.
They left Yangon for Kolkata from where they would go to their respective native places, it said. “We appreciate the assistance provided by the Myanmar authorities and other contacts. While we continue our efforts for securing the release of the remaining Indian nationals, we reiterate advisories against falling prey to job offers by transnational crime syndicates,” the Indian embassy in Yangon said.
So far, more than 160 Indian nationals have been rescued.
The lid was blown off the issue when a few stranded Tamilians sent out an SOS message to the central and state governments. They claimed that they were made to work 15 hours a day, beaten up and given electric shocks if unable to do so.
In September, India had said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) was aware of Information Technology (IT) companies recruiting Indian workers on the pretext of offering them lucrative jobs in Thailand but then taking them to Myanmar as part of an international racket. The IT job aspirants were often lured through social media platforms.
“We’re aware of IT companies recruiting Indian workers on the pretext of jobs in Thailand who were then taken to Myanmar. Thanks to our efforts we have facilitated the rescue of some of those people. We urge Indian nationals to exercise caution before taking up job offers there,” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told a news briefing in Delhi.
The MEA has cautioned Indian citizens and urged them to cross-check before taking up any IT job offers in Thailand, Myanmar or neighbouring countries to avoid being captured by ethnic armed groups or landing in trouble on foreign shores. The captured Indians, many of whom are IT professionals are often forced to help the groups carry out planned cybercrimes.
MEA officials believe that the people running the racket are not under the control of the military junta which rules Myanmar. It is also believed that the area of operation is primarily in Myawaddy, which is not absolutely under government control.
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