Want to see my son before I die, says victim’s mother
MISSING YOUTH IN IRAQ One of the youths, Sonu’s mother has kept the hope of his return alive; uncertainty prevails over DNA tests due to nonavailability of kits
AMRITSAR:The government’s decision to conduct DNA tests of the kin of 39 Indian youth missing in Iraq has rekindled the hope of the family members.
The Centre, in collaboration with authorities in Iraq, has started a fresh search for the 39 Indians who were kidnapped by the Islamic State in Mosul, Iraq, three years back.
While the government is trying to trace the missing people, back home, the families are hoping against hope to reunite with their members. HT team visited one such family where a 61-yearold mother is waiting to see her son, Sonu, again.
“I want to see my son before I die. I had repeatedly asked him not to go abroad, but he did not listen to me. He was adamant to go. ISIS abducted him along with 38 other Indians in 2014. He was around 28 year old then,” a tearyeyed Jeeto said. “I took ₹1.5 lakh loan to send him abroad. Though the government is helping me to return the loan, but it couldn’t get my son back,” she said.
Sonu’s wife Seema, 30, has lost faith in the government. “I work as a domestic help. I am living for my two childrten — Karan,10, and Arjun, 7. He last called us on June 15, 2014. Since then we have no news of him,” Seema said.
As far as the DNA test is concerned, Sonu’s younger brother Saba told that they had faced inconvenience so far.
“We were told to visit Amritsar Government Medical College, but they didn’t even have the DNA kits,” Saba said.
Meanwhile, blood samples of family members of the Indians, missing in Iraq, could not be collected even on Monday because the designated health centre in Amritsar didn’t have the test kits. The health facility, which has been assigned the task by the Punjab government, has sent an employee to Hyderabad to bring the kits that are not available in market, sources said.
We were told to visit the Amritsar Government Medical College, but they didn’t even have the DNA kits. SABA, Sonu’s brother