“I want to ask [Minister of State for External Affairs] General V K Singh (retd) why he told a lie when he made a claim about men likely to be in Badush prison.” (File photo)
After reports that Badush prison in Iraq where group of 39 missing Indians were last seen was in ruins now, their families have begun questioning the claim of Ministry of External Affairs which had said the men were likely to be in that prison.
“I want to ask [Minister of State for External Affairs] General V K Singh (retd) why he told a lie when he made a claim about men likely to be in Badush prison,” said Gurpinder Kaur, sister of Manjinder Singh, one of the missing men, who were believed to have been abducted by IS militants from Mosul on June 11, 2014. The focus again shifts to the only man among the group who returned, Harjit Masih, who still maintains that the men were shot dead. At least one of the family members of the missing men said on Saturday that External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj could never convince families in the meetings as to why Harjit Masih would tell a lie.
“In every meeting, we have been asking why Harjit Masih would tell a lie and Sushma would say ‘forget about what Harjit says’. She has maintained all along that Harjit is lying. And when we ask that if Harjit is telling a lie, government give us proof of safety of men, the government does not give any proof either,” said Devinder Singh, brother of one of the missing man Gobinder Singh.
Asked that it was on the complaint of families that Harjit was booked in a human trafficking case, Devinder said, “The family members got the case registered because it was through Harjit and his relative that the men went to Iraq.”
The family members are seriously doubting the claims of Ministry of External Affairs about the missing men. “It appears the government is not making things clear to the family members deliberately. It appears that the only aim of the government is to keep the issue alive before it completes its five years of tenure. The government knows nothing about the men. Earlier, in a meeting on June 8, families were told that the missing men were in a church. In the recent meeting, government said the men were likely to be in Badush prison. Now, reports say Badush prison is in ruins,” said Sarwan Singh, brother of one of the missing men, Nishan Singh.
“Government should send a few members of families of missing to Iraq along with a delegation. We want to see for ourselves what is the truth,” said Devinder Singh. “I would like to visit Iraq. I appeal to the government to facilitate my visit to Iraq,” said Gurpinder Kaur.
“One of the persons in touch with me on Facebook from Iraq confirms that Badush prison is in ruins. He tells me that the area is under the control of Iraqi forces.
After government’s flip-flop on possible location of the missing men, the families are really disappointed. For the government, it appears more an issue of reputation. The government has no idea about the missing men whether they are alive or not. Just for reputation, the government is keeping the hopes of family members afloat. I want to ask [Minister of State for External Affairs] General V K Singh (retd) why he told a lie when he made a claim about men likely to be in Badush prison,” said Gurpinder.
According to Devinder, family members of missing men met Sushma Swaraj 12 times.
