‘No proof missing men are dead’

IN THE HOUSE Swaraj says govt won’t abandon efforts to trace 39 missing Indians in Iraq

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday said there was no evidence to prove that the 39 Indians abducted from Mosul in Iraq in 2014 were dead.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Swaraj said, “I will not commit the sin” of declaring them dead without any evidence and added that the government would not abandon efforts to trace the missing Indians till it gets proof of their death.

The minister said the claim that the Indians, mostly construction workers from Punjab, were killed was made in June 2014 by Harjit Masih. He was a part of the group but managed to escape Islamic State (IS) captivity and return. “Though there were many contradictions in his statement, I asked our officials to search for evidence of the killings...when an organisation like IS kills a group of people from a country, they release a list of those killed, videos or pictures. We found no bodies, blood, pictures or a list of those,” she said.

The minister said Masih's claim was contradicted by six other sources of the government. “I had told the House on November 24, 2014, that I don’t have direct contact with them. I have no proof of them being alive or dead,” she said, adding, “This file will not be closed till there is proof that the 39 Indians are dead.”

On Monday, Iraqi foreign minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said there was no “substantial evidence” on whether the Indians were alive or dead. He also confirmed that the prison at Badush, their last known location till early 2016, was demolished by IS.

Speaking in the Lower House, Swaraj clarified she had only said the Indians were taken to the prison in early 2016 and not that they were there at the time of the demolition of the prison.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge was disallowed by the Speaker from seeking a clarifications from Swaraj, who said she had requested Al Jaafri to trace the prison warden and seek a list of the detainees there to check whether it included Indians.

RAJ K RAJ/HT Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge (third from left), with the six Congress MPs who were suspended from the Lok Sabha for five days, at Parliament house in New Delhi on Wednesday.