17 Indian youths, mostly from Punjab & Haryana, released from Libya’s Tripoli jail

They were in Libya for the past six months because of travel agents who duped them on the pretext of sending them to Italy for lucrative job offers.

The youths had left India in February, 2023. The 17 youths are now at a camp for illegal immigrants in Tripoli. (Express photo)

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Seventeen Indian youths mostly from Punjab and Haryana were released from Tripoli jail in Libya on Saturday. They were in Libya for the past six months because of unscrupulous travel agents from Punjab and Delhi who duped them on the pretext of sending them to Italy.

Member of Parliament Vikramjit Singh Sahney, who has been trying to rescue them for the past several months now said that some travel agents from Punjab and Delhi charged each youth around Rs 11 lakh on the pretext of sending them to Italy for lucrative job offers. The youths had left India in February, 2023. The agents then first took them to Dubai, Egypt and after few days they reached Libya and were in Zuwara City.

The MP said that they were deprived of food and water and were assaulted physically.

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Sahney said that when he got to know about them in May, he got in touch with the Indian Embassy in Tunisia and initiated the legal process for rescuing of 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,” said Sahney, adding that they were rescued from the local mafia on June 13 with the help of Libyan police.

“We made these boys run from the under-construction building, where these youths were held captive by armed group/mafia, and accommodated them in a hotel at Zuwara city, Libya for which all the funds were provided by us. My office was on call with these boys throughout the night till this rescue operation got over early morning,” said he.

Police got their custody and put them at a detention centre in Zuwara on June 15 and we initiated the legal process to get their councillor access.

Sahney added that the process of getting their councillor access was completed and Libyan authorities released them from jail and kept them in camp office of Port of Illegal Immigrants in Tripoli, till arrangements for their travel documents viz. Emergency Certificate to ensure their smooth, safe repatriation to India is made.

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