Stating that the government had waited for three years to confirm the deaths of 39 Indians in Iraq, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Tuesday that this was because they do not go with “believed to be killed” as confirmation of demise.
“General [V.K.] Singh was told by a person during his trip to Badoush in Iraq about a mound. That person had said that he was witness to a mass killing [at] that spot,” said Ms. Swaraj, addressing a press conference in New Delhi after she made a suo motu speech in Parliament on the matter.
“We had contacted four States for DNA samples from families. After exhumation, a steel bangle worn by Sikhs and long hair worn by Sikh men was found. Last night, 38 DNA samples were matched and victims identified. One body is yet to be identified and matched with DNA,” said the Minister.
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Ms. Swaraj said that Gen. Singh will bring the bodies to Jalandhar and Amritsar first, and then travel to Himachal Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. Of the 39 dead Indians, 27 were from Punjab, four from Himachal Pradesh, five from Bihar and two from West Bengal, she stated.
The Minister said that the Ministry never kept the families in the dark or lied to the nation. “Some family members of the 39 missing Indians asked why I informed Parliament, and not the families first. I had promised earlier to disclose this to Parliament first if the House remains in session.”
The MoS Gen. Singh said he would “leave for Baghdad as soon as the process of identifying is completed.”
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Ms. Swaraj also blamed the Congress for disrupting proceedings in the House. “The sad news of 39 Indians saddened me. But the developments in Lok Sabha saddened me further. Today's behaviour in Lok Sabha by Congress crossed all limits of petty politics.”