By PTI
CHANDIGARH: The family Gobinder Singh, one of the 39 Indians massacred by terror group ISIS in Iraq, find themselves a shattered lot.
Despite Gobinder Singh's disappearance years ago, they were hopeful that one day he would walk back through the entrance of their residence in Murar village in Kapurthala district where he is survived by a 19-year-old son and a 17-year-old daughter.
"He left home and went to Iraq in 2014 to earn money for the family. He wanted his son Amandeep to study and become an engineer," said a grieving Davinder Singh, younger brother of the deceased.
Gobinder Singh worked as a labourer in a factory here before moving to Iraq, he said.
"The news of Gobinder's death has left our family completely shattered," said Davinder adding we were hoping that one day he may return.
" The family came to know about Gobinder Singh's death from news channels.
"We have not received yet received any call from the Union ministry about the confirmation of death of 39 Indians," said Davinder Singh.
The government had earlier said there was no concrete evidence that 39 Indians abducted from Mosul in Iraq had been killed, he added.
The financial position of the family was not good and Gobinder Singh's son had to leave school.
Amandeep now works in a local factory to support the family, said Davinder Singh.
"We request the government to announce financial help and give a government job to the son of Gobinder Singh so that he can take care of his family," said Davinder Singh.
The family of Gobinder Singh had earlier met External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj several times.
"We met the union minister 12 times but every time we were told the 39 Indians were alive," he claimed.
But we did not know that what Harjit Masih (lone survivor) used to say would turn out to be true, he said.
Among the 39 Indians who went missing, most were from different places in Punjab like Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Jalandhar.
All the 39 Indians abducted by the ISIS in Mosul in Iraq three years ago are dead and their bodies have been recovered, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told the Rajya Sabha today.
