Punjab Congress accuses Sushma Swaraj of 'misleading' country on fate of 39 missing Indians in Iraq

Jalandhar (Punjab): The Punjab Congress on Sunday accused the external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj of “misleading” the country on the fate of 39 Indians abducted in Iraq and asked her to provide “credible information” on the issue. [caption id=“attachment_3775221” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Sushma Swaraj. PTI[/caption] “Thirty nine people went to Iraq to get better employment opportunities and they have been untraceable for the last three years. The Centre, especially Sushma Swaraj, is misleading their relatives,” Satnam Singh Kainth, vice-president, state Congress said. “Instead of misleading them, she must give credible and accurate information to their family members. If they are alive, the Centre must take strong steps to bring them back,” he demanded. Swaraj recently met the family members of the missing workers in New Delhi and informed them that the Islamic State had transferred the Indians at a jail in Badush, near Mosul. “If the Centre knows where they are then she must tell the nation what steps are being taken to bring them back to the country,” the former Leader of Opposition of Punjab Assembly said. Citing media reports that the jail was destroyed by Islamic State long ago, he said these are “tough times” for their families as they are growing restless. Gurudaspur resident Harjit Massih, who fled Islamic State captivity, had claimed that all the 39 Indian construction workers were killed by the militants in 2014.