HYDERABAD: Every Saturday, a handful of families across India wait beside their phones for a call that may last no more than five minutes. For the relatives of 13 Indian nationals allegedly trapped in cybercrime compounds in Myanmar, those brief conversations have become the only proof that their loved ones are still alive.
Among them are three men from Hyderabad. Their families say months of appeals to the Ministry of External Affairs, diplomatic authorities and other agencies have yielded assurances, but no rescue.
In a video message that surfaced online, the victims described the conditions they allegedly face inside the compounds. Their faces were hidden behind masks, a precaution family members say was necessary to avoid retaliation from those holding them.
For some families, hope is increasingly competing with fear.
According to relatives, 24-year-old Mir Sajjad Ali recently conveyed a chilling message to his family, warning that conditions were worsening and telling them not to expect even his body to return home if the situation continued.
Speaking to TNIE, Sajjad’s brother-in-law, Rizwan Ali, said the 24-year-old was lured to Thailand in July 2025 with the promise of a call centre job but was allegedly trafficked to Myanmar after arriving in Bangkok.
According to the family, the victims’ passports were confiscated and they are forced to work nearly 20 hours a day under harsh conditions. Rizwan alleged that harassment intensified after families approached authorities for help and claimed the captives are being forced to participate in online fraud operations and gather sensitive information.
The uncertainty has been especially difficult for the family of 23-year-old Mohammed Arshad Khan. His widowed mother said she has not spoken to her son for more than three months. “Arshad is all I have left after my husband’s death. Every day I wait for a call or some news about him,” she said, appealing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Ministry of External Affairs to ensure the safe return of the victims.
Apart from Sajjad and Arshad, the group includes Shaik Abdul Sameer from Hyderabad, five individuals from Visakhapatnam, three from Tamil Nadu, and one each from West Bengal and Maharashtra.
For now, the families remain caught in a painful routine — waiting for a phone call, searching for updates and hoping that the next message from Myanmar will be news of a rescue rather than another plea for help.