As Iraqi forces get set to reclaim Mosul, kin of missing Indians wait for answers

Even though there was one man who said he had seen the others being shot and managed to escape himself, the families reposed their trust in Swaraj. The government detained the man, Harjit Masih, for months. Harjit was last year booked in a case of human trafficking on a complaint by the families. He is out on bail in the case.

The family members now say that there is no word from the government on the fate of the missing men.

“Through Facebook, I am in touch with one of the friends of my brother who worked with him in Mosul. He lives in Mosul. He tells me that more than 90 per cent of Mosul, including the area where my brother worked, had been freed from ISIS militants and things have returned to normalcy,” said Gurpinder Kaur, sister of Manjinder Singh, one of the abducted men, lamenting that there was no word from Swaraj even now..

Though the External Affairs Minister used to meet them regularly earlier, Gurpinder and others said that for the last six month, Swaraj has been unavailable despite their entreaties to her office for a meeting.

Their last meeting with her was in October 2016. In this period, the External Affairs Minister was also unwell, and in hospital. She did not go in to her office at South Block in New Delhi for about three months.

Gurpinder said she had been seeking a meeting of the families with Sushma since her return to work, but every time they are told that she is busy and a meeting is not possible.

Sarwan Singh, brother of another abducted Indian, Nishan Singh, was equally critical of the Centre. “Now they are not giving us time for a meeting. Koyee lat baanh nahi fara rahe (They are not listening to us, not telling us anything). Every time we seek a meeting, we hear that Ma’am (Sushma) is very, very busy and she does not have the time. The only thing they say that the men are safe, but when we ask for proof they say they do not have any proof,” said Sarwan.

He added: “We are trying hard to get time for a meeting with Sushma. This time, we would ask her to clearly say yes or no (whether the men were alive or not).”

MEA spokesman Gopal Baglay told The Indian Express that the government was continuing to make efforts to trace the missing men.

“Government continues its efforts to locate the men, and seek information abroad in this regard. The matter is taken up regularly with the countries that can help with these efforts. It has also been part of our recent interactions with senior dignitaries from the region,” Baglay said, but declined to elaborate.