13 trapped in Myanmar to return home

All 13 are expected to land at Chennai around 2am on Wednesday, the Tamil Nadu government official said requesting anonymity. “They escaped from Myanmar and reached Bangkok in neighbouring Thailand around a month ago.”

Thirteen residents of Tamil Nadu who were trapped for months in military-ruled Myanmar, where they were allegedly tortured and forced to do illegal cyber-related work, reached Delhi on Tuesday and were on their way back home, a senior government official coordinating their rescue told HT.

Thirteen residents of Tamil Nadu who were trapped for months in military-ruled Myanmar, reached Delhi on Tuesday. (Agencies/Representative use)

All 13 are expected to land at Chennai around 2am on Wednesday, the Tamil Nadu government official said requesting anonymity. “They escaped from Myanmar and reached Bangkok in neighbouring Thailand around a month ago.”

“Some of them had crossed over and had been in Bangkok for a month. We (Tamil Nadu government) got in touch with the Tamil diaspora to help them with food,” the official said. “They had to spend time in quarantine due to Covid-19 protocol. As soon as all the documentation work was over, we immediately booked their flight tickets.”

In September, the state government was in touch with 17 Tamilians seeking rescue from Myanmar, where military seized the power from the democratically elected Aung San Suu Kyi-led government in coup d’état on February 1 last year. Chief minister MK Stalin had also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking Centre’s help in bringing them back.

The official said the 13 rescued individuals were among around 300 Indian citizens, including 50 from Tamil Nadu, who had gone to Thailand for IT jobs in different batches through private recruiting agencies. However, after reaching Bangkok, some of them were forcibly taken to Myanmar by road, the official added.

They were forced to do illegal cyber jobs and according to reports, they were physically assaulted by their employers if they refused to work, the official said.

“When they refused to do the illegal work, one of the employees–a Tamil man–was beaten in front of everyone. He needed a dozen stitches in his ear. That’s how they warned the rest of them to fall in line,” said a family member of one of the IT professionals who had gone to Thailand, seeking not to be named until the safe return of their relative.

Union minister of state for external affairs V Muraleedharan on Tuesday released a video in Malayalam, saying the Indian Embassy in Myanmar was continuing its efforts to rescue more people trapped. “There needs to be no doubt that the Narendra Modi government is taking steps to bring back all Indians,” he said.