The Telangana government on Monday wrote to Union Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, seeking her intervention in the release of 29 Indian workers allegedly detained by a private company in Saudi Arabia.
These workers, hailing from the States of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu were held in captivity for the past 12 days by the company without food and other basic amenities, Telangana Minister for IT and NRI Affairs, K. Taraka Rama Rao, said.
In a letter addressed to Ms. Sushma Swaraj, the Telangana Minister said that one B. Shekhar of Kamareddy district and 28 other Indians were working for Al-Hajry Overseas company at Al-Hassa in Saudi Arabia. Recently, they sought leave from the company to meet their families in India.
“The company not only demanded 50,000 dinars from each worker but also refused to provide the travel expenses,” Mr. Rao said in the letter, which was released to the media. Seeking justice, the workers approached the Labour Court there and subsequently petitioned the ‘Amir Court’.
According to the Minister, the Amir Court directed the employers of the Indian workers to bear expenses of their journey and send them to their home country within three days. Meanwhile, the company had taken the 29 employees into their custody and held them captive in a building at Alsafania Kouqt, Bodar, near Kanji.
The workers were denied food, water and medicines for the past 12 days. Mr. Rao requested the Union Minister to take up the issue with the Saudi Arabia government and ensure the release of 29 workers at the earliest.
The Hindu had carried reports on the plight of the 29 workers consecutively for two days.
One of them, B. Shekhar, told The Hindu over phone that they were surviving with the food provided by locals and some Indian workers.
