Ending suspense over the fate of 39 Indians abducted in Iraq in June 2014, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday declared all these men dead and said their bodies will be brought back to India soon. In a statement made in the Rajya Sabha, Sushma said the deaths were confirmed on the basis of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) tests conducted on the bodies exhumed from a mound in Badoosh, Iraq. She confirmed that the DNA samples of the dead Indians have matched with those of their family members in India.

“We made all possible attempts and knocked all doors to locate these missing men in these years. As a responsible Government we could not have declared them dead without any proof. Today we have the evidence that these men are dead and with a heavy heart I am giving this news. This news will also bring ‘closure’ for the family members of these missing men who have all along been hoping for their return,” Sushma said later in a Press conference.

This is the first incident of direct mass killing of Indians by the ISIS even though the terror group has in the past kidnapped other Indians as well. A group of nurses were kidnapped in Iraq while a catholic priest was abducted in Yemen by the ISIS or its affiliates before the Indian Government negotiated their release.

Breaking the news in the Rajya Sabha, Sushma said a total 40 Indians were originally abducted by the ISIS in June 2014 from Mosul in Iraq but one of them — Harjit Masih — escaped by posing as a Muslim from Bangladesh. The remaining 39 Indians were taken to Badoosh and killed by the fleeing ISIS when the Iraqi security forces started closing in on them.

She said that the search operations led to a mound in Badoosh where locals said some bodies were buried by the ISIS. Sushma added that on the request of India, Deep Penetration Radars (DPR) were used by the Iraqi Government to establish the fact that the mound indeed was a mass grave. The Minister said the mass grave had exactly 39 bodies, with distinctive features like long hair, non-Iraqi shoes, identity cards and kada (worn by Sikh community in India). The bodies were then sent to Baghdad for DNA testing.

The Minister said that the DNA testing was conducted by the Iraqi NGO, Martyrs Foundation, which established the identity of 38 Indians while there has been 70 per cent matching of the DNA for the 39th person. The Minister could not confirm the timing of the death of these men and the way they were killed. “We might get all that details in the death certificate from the Martyrs Foundation when the dead bodies arrive,” Swaraj said.

The Minister dismissed Masih’s claims that the Indian captives were killed in 2014 itself and he managed to escape despite being shot in the leg.

Swaraj said Masih has been giving contradictory statements to the Government and she had concrete evidence that he was lying. “Masih had escaped along with Bangladeshis with the help of a caterer using a fake name Ali. The details were revealed to me by Masih’s employer and the caterer who helped him,” Swaraj said. In the Lok Sabha, slogan-shouting Opposition members did not allow Swaraj to give her statement on the death of 39 missing Indians in Iraq after she detailed it in the Rajya Sabha following continued protests by TDP,TRS and AIADMK parties.

The Lok Sabha was first adjourned till noon and then for the day due to the ruckus created by several protesting parties leading Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to announce that she was unable to take up the no-confidence motion as there was no order in the House.

When the House met at noon after first adjournment, Mahajan ordered laying of the listed papers, but soon AIADMK, TRS and TDP started raising slogans in support of their demands. Several members had crowded the Well of the House.

At this stage the Speaker requested the members to maintain order as Swaraj wanted to inform the House about a “serious” issue. Soon Congress and Left members started raising slogans, drowning the voice of Swaraj.

“She wants to inform the House about the 39 Indians killed in Iraq. Please listen to her,” the Speaker said.

Swaraj said she cannot make a statement in the din as it was a serious issue, while recalling that the Lok Sabha had on several occasions discussed about the fate of the 39 Indians. Swaraj could not make the statement due to the uproar in the House. Despite the Speaker’s repeated pleas to the Opposition members to observed two-minute of silence to condole the death, bedlam continued.

Before she adjourned the House for the day, the Speaker regretted that members were showing lack of sensitivity towards the serious issue. ‘Hindustan ke liye bhi samvedna nahin ye kaisi rajniti,” the Speaker said as Congress members, who were at their seats, objected to the disruptions, saying this would prevent the notices of no- trust motion from being taken up.

Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh will be flying to Iraq to bring back the bodies on a special flight. Of these 39 persons, 27 are from Punjab, four from Himachal Pradesh, six from Bihar and two from West Bengal.

The distraught family members of the dead Indians refused to believe this news and many of them accused Swaraj of misleading them all these year. They also criticised her for not taking them in confidence before breaking the news and that they heard it from television. Some even claimed that they have proof that these men are alive.

Swaraj clarified that since Parliament was in session she was duty bound to inform both the Houses of Parliament first. She also added that with the dead bodies arriving next week, Swaraj said the families will be able to convince themselves that the news is indeed true.

Courtesy: The Pioneer, Wednesday, 21 March 2018 | PNS | New Delhi