VISAKHAPATNAM: Telugu Expats Association of Malaysia has shifted four youths, whom it rescued from an agent following a report published by TNIE earlier this week, to the Indian High Commission shelter in Kuala Lumpur. The four youths -- M Venku Naidu, M Mahesh, M Srinu and M Girish -- all from Rajam in Butchaiahpeta mandal were initially provided accommodation in an apartment at Brickfields in Kuala Lumpur after they were rescued by the association.
It also rescued three more persons who were languishing in Malaysia. Interestingly, one of the rescued was the agent, P Dhana Sekhar, who cheated the four youths.
Agent who cheated youths too in trouble
Sekhar himself became a victim of his unscrupulous employer who took away his passport and drove him away. Association media coordinator Madan Mohan told TNIE over phone that a team of the association led by its president Anil Kumar Chigurupati was making efforts to help the Visakhapatnam youths get white passports and send them back to India.
The association also partially recovered money from Sekhar which he had taken from the four youths and Rs 30,000 each was credited to their accounts, Madan said. Apart from Sekhar the other two who were rescued included Naveen Mowangi and K Ramakrishna. Madan said the case of Ramakrishna was pathetic as he struggled for the last 16 months without salary. Back home in Visakhapatnam his wife and two grown-up children are being supported by his in-laws’ family. Owing to financial problems a desperate Ramakrishna made an attempt to find work in Kuwait. But it proved disastrous. In a double whammy, his Malaysia adventure too ended in disappointment.
Madan said the association was ready to reach out to poor victims. But its focus is on discouraging people from coming to Malaysia on a tourist visa for employment. There is no hope for such people to get compensation from employers through court because of illegal status of their stay in Malaysia.
The Telugu Expats Association has approached the APNRT Society for grants for the early return of the youths. He said six of the seven youths have been staying for less than one year and they may not face many problems.
However, the case of Ramakrishna is a little bit tricky as he has been staying for over 16 months in Malaysia. However, they are trying to salvage the situation for him to some extent, he said.
Meanwhile, Venku Naidu and others said they were being treated well at IHC shelter and the accommodation was good. However, they said they wanted to return to India.