CHANDIGARH: Seventeen Indian youths from Punjab and Haryana who were stranded in Libya for the last six months were released from the jail in Tripoli yesterday.
Member of Parliament of Rajya Sabha from Punjab Vikramjit Singh Sahney said that they were cheated (the amount varies from person to person) by some unscrupulous travel agents on the pretext of sending them to Italy for lucrative jobs.
All of them left India for Italy in February 2023 via Dubai then Egypt and after a few days, they were landed in Libya and kept in Zuwara City, where they were being deprived of basic amenities like food and water and causing physical assault.
Sahney said that when he got to know about it in May this year, he got in touch with the Indian Embassy in Tunisia and initiated the legal process for rescuing all these boys.
"My office was in constant touch with these boys and their families. Initially, our major concern was to take them out from the captivity of the local mafia,” he said.
Sahney further said that they were detained in an under-construction building by an armed group from where the police took their custody. "On June 13 with the help of Libyan police, we made these boys run and accommodated them in a hotel at Zwara City, Libya. My office was in touch with these youths throughout the night till this rescue operation got over in the early morning. Later, they were kept at a detention centre on June 15 and then we initiated the legal process to get their consular access,’’ he said.
Sahney said on Saturday the process of getting their consular access got over and Libyan authorities released them from jail and kept them in Tripoli till arrangements for their travel documents viz Emergency Certificate to ensure their smooth, safe repatriation to India were arranged by them.
Sahney said he will be sponsoring all legal expenses and flight tickets for the youth coming back to their home. On reaching India, Sahney’s office will offer them free of cost skilling and provide them with job opportunities so that they don’t have to go abroad in search of Jobs.