Nearly 45 from Jharkhand stuck in Malaysia after alleged dispute between company and contractor

The district administration in Hazaribagh got in touch with the Ministry of External Affairs, which has assured them that the Indian High Commission in Malaysia was already aware of the problem and working to help them return to the country.

“Those detained have been released. Some have still valid visas. The information we have got is that the process has been set in motion to bring those stuck there back,” said Hazaribagh Deputy Commissioner Ravi Shankar Shukla. He added that the matter came to their notice through media reports.

While many belonged to Vishnugarh Block of Hazaribagh district, a few others were from Giridih and Bokaro districts. Currently, they were in the city of Kuching, which is the Capital of Sarawak state of Malaysia.

“We had come here to work for a transmission laying company called Sinohydro Corporation. One S G Cables had hired us all for the purpose. Most of us had come in July last year, but a few others had joined us in August. The work continued till February or March. But we have not been paid anything for the past four months. Initially, the company said that things would be sorted out. But, later, the contractor and the company went into a dispute, as the latter approached the labour court here. We were told to stop work,” said a supervisor in the group Ram Lal Mahto, talking to The Indian Express over phone from Malaysia.

Mahto said that the authorities took into detention 20 of them, as their work permit visas had expired. “They have now been released, as we are hearing the Indian government has intervened. But, we are left with no money, which we genuinely deserve. We want that the government should also put pressure on the contractors or the company to pay us the entire remaining amount,” he said.

Ram Lal claimed that there was no one middle man involved in getting the people in touch with the contractor, who is said to have a base in Chennai also. “People came to know about it from various sources and got enrolled,” he said.

Another worker, Umesh Kumar, said: “They (the contractor) had taken our passports and did not allow us to try any other thing. We are being forced to live like their slaves. Even though our visas are valid till next month, we are worried about our future and want to return to our country as soon as possible.”

Among the workers included supervisors, linesmen, fitters, foremen, winch operators, helpers and cooks. Kumar added that they had agreed to work for the contractor as it promised attractive salary. “We came to know by word of mouth from our acquaintances and a few others, who had worked earlier,” he said.

A local leader of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik), Chandra Nath Bhai Patel, also party’s incharge of Mandu assembly constituency in Hazaribagh, who wrote letters to the officials and Hazaribagh MP Jayant Sinha, said: “From what the people stuck there have told us, it appears that they have been duped by the contractors.”

Sinha, who is also Minister of State for Civil Aviation, tweeted that he had got in touch with Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, General V K Singh, who has assured him that those stuck would return to India soon.