20 youths stuck in Riyadh rescued

20 youths stuck in Riyadh rescued

Jalandhar : AAP state convener Bhagwant Mann today highlighted the plight of 20 Indian youths who had been putting up in deplorable conditions at Riyadh in Saudi Arabia for the past three months.As many as 15 are from Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur and Nawanshahr in Punjab with two each hailing from Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, and one from Panipat. Mann said the 20 youths returned to India four days ago. The youth were stuck in the foreign land without money and with minimal food after being duped by travel agents who had sent them abroad on the pretext of lucrative jobs. Accompanied by the youths, Mann demanded FIRs against travel agents who had duped the youths. He sought jobs for the rescued youth as promised by the Captain Amarinder Singh government. The youths claimed as many as 2,000 Indian youths were stuck in Saudi Arabia. They said many had died and their bodies had been stuck there for the past two years. Mann said he received a video SOS from the youths through Facebook. Then, he brought the issue to the notice of the Ministry of External Affairs. Following that, the youths were issued emergency cards and the process of bringing them back to India was initiated. Charanjeet Kumar of Chabbewal village in Hoshiarpur said, “We were promised jobs as drivers that would fetch us 1,700 Saudi riyals. For it, Rs 1.5 lakh were taken from my agent Raju Pathania at Chabbewal. He handed me over to an agent Al Amar in Mumbai. “Upon reaching there, we were told that as there were only 10 vehicles and 50 drivers, all could not be given jobs. We were made to sign a document stating we would get only 1,100 riyals if we wanted to eat. “We were fed rice — which even animals wouldn’t eat — all the time. Over 20-25 of us were made to stay in small dingy rooms. We were told that anyone unwilling to tow the line could go back to India on a payment of Rs 1.5 lakh.

You must be logged in to post a comment Login