CHANDIGARH, Aug 19: The Indian embassy in Libya has reportedly written to the Libyan foreign office for sympathetic consideration of the cases registered against 10 labourers from India who are presently under arrest in Tripoli.Meanwhile, the Non-Resident Indian Welfare Committee, which fights for the rights of NRIs, has announced that it would launch a dharna in Delhi from September 15 to draw the government's attention to the plight of immigrant labourers.Of the 10 labourers lodged in a Tripoli jail on charges of sabotage and agitation, four belong to Punjab while the others are from Delhi, Rajasthan and Orissa.One of the arrested labourers, Avtar Singh, had recently sent a fax to his brother, Tarsem Lal, in Faridkot that neither the Indian embassy nor the construction company had cared to extend any legal aid to them. He also claimed that though they were being produced in court, no lawyer from the company came to their defence.NRI Welfare Committee president S L Chauhan told ENS that he hadreceived a communication from the Indian embassy at Tripoli that it would be closely following the case. The latest communication from the embassy had given an assurance that the Libyan foreign office had been requested to deal sympathetically with the cases against the labourers and for their release, he added.Chauhan also claimed that he had been receiving threats from the managers of the SSB Company Private Limited at Delhi after publication of a news items regarding the arrests a few days ago.Tarsem Lal told ENS from Faridkot today that he had received no further fax from his brother after the message received on July 27.He alleged that the same company was again recruiting people by charging Rs 25,000 to Rs 40,000 in Delhi but the government had done nothing regarding this.In fact, many of the labourers who had been hired by the construction company to serve in Libya two years ago have returned with their tales of woes which include non-payment of wages, lack of proper accommodation and working hours which extended up to 16 hours a day.It was, in fact, a protest against low wages and compensation for a fellow labourer who had died of a fall at Tripoli that lead to the registration of cases of sabotage initially against 68 and later 10 more labourers. The 68 labourers are on bail.Chauhan has demanded that the Indian government take necessary action against the construction company for duping the labourers and has urged the National Human Rights Commission to intervene in the matter.
