Iqbal Singh Lalpura, the Chairperson of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM), on Sunday informed the media that the commission successfully rescued 12 Indians who were stranded in Libya after being lured there by an employment scam (fake job racket) orchestrated by an agent. The NCM expressed gratitude towards the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Indian Embassy in Tunisia for their assistance in the task.
“We received a representation from one Sukhvinder Singh and others with a request to bring back Indians from minority communities stranded in Libya. A similar request was also made by BJP president of Ropar District, Ajayvir Singh Lalpura,” Iqbal Singh Lalpura said.
The request to bring back the 12 Indians was forwarded by the NCM to the MEA on February 6, 2023. The youngsters were illegally taken to Libya for employment opportunities.
“Upon reaching Libya, they realised that they would be working for a private contractor without salary. They were also not provided with proper food and beaten brutally, as alleged by them,” Mr. Iqbal Singh Lalpura said.
The Embassy of India in Tunisia told the NCM that a Benghazi resident named Tabassum Mansoor aided in providing humanitarian aid and relief supplies to the Indians stranded in Libya.
The NCM acknowledged that, with the help of the MEA and the Embassy of India in Tunisia, four of the 12 stranded Indians were successfully repatriated from Libya on February 12. The remaining Indians were rescued and brought back home on March 2, 2023.
