DHURI: Union external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj’s announcement that none amongst the 39 Indians, who had been captured by the
Islamic State in Iraq’s Mosul city, were now alive was a deep shock for the family of
Pritpal Sharma of Dhuri town in Sangrur. The family had been assured by the Centre that Sharma was alive and working in
Iraq.
Pritpal’s son Neeraj said they were in constant touch with the ministry of external affairs and they would always assure the family that the there was nothing to prove that his father had been killed in Iraq. He said that they learnt about the death of their father through a statement given by Union minister for external affairs in the Rajya Sabha. “We were never informed about the whereabouts of our father even as the authorities continued to maintain that we should not give up hope.”
“In 2015, we were told that our father was fine and had been seen working in Iraq and then again in 2016 we were again guaranteed that my father was alive”, said Neeraj. He said when media started reporting that the kidnapped Indians could have been murdered by the IS, the family members’ started fearing for the worst, which was confirmed by the Union minister on Tuesday.
His mother Raj Rani, who was inconsolable, said that void left behind by her husband could never be filled. She said her husband had gone to Iraq to earn some money for the family but after they lost contact with him it gradually became apparent that he could have been killed. But there was still hope. She said the government should initiate steps to bring back the mortal remains of her husband.
