29 Indians return from Iraq after being freed by their captors

All 29 Indians, including 27 residents of Rajasthan, who were held hostage in Najaf city of Iraq for several days, have returned safely. These people were stranded in Iraq for more than 6 months.

New Delhi: As many as 29 Indians, who were taken hostage in Iraq, have returned safely to India on Monday.

Family members of the persons welcomed them with garland and tilak at New Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport.

The people who returned have been identified as Mahendra Kumar Barwa, Vinod Barwa, Suresh Bairwa, Babulal Bairwa, Ramratan Chhotulal including Kanhaiyalal, Kush, Jodhraj Gurjar, Prakashchandra Rager, Harphool, Vinod, Laxman, Omprakash Verma, Devlal Meena, Ganeshlal, Omveer, Rakesh Kumar Verma, Shishupal, Gopal Lal Rager, Om Prakash, Mohanlal, Nandkishore, Praveen Kumar, Madanlal, Kishanlal, Bajranglal, Amrit Lal Meena and Bharatlal.

According to sources, all 29 Indians, including 27 residents of Rajasthan, who have been held hostage in Najaf city of Iraq for several days, have returned safely. These people were stranded in Iraq for more than 6 months.

When the plane reached India, the workers became emotional with the slogans of Bharat Mata ki Jai and Vande Mataram.

"There is no value to the lives of Indian citizens in Iraq and the treatment meted out to us is worse than animals," an Iraq returned person said.

"Thank God that we have returned safely to our motherland. Human efforts apart, it was divine intervention and prayers of our well-wishers helped us to return from Iraq safely," another person said.

Notably, ETV Bharat had raised the issue prominently and how the bounded labourers were facing harassment in Iraq as well as they were trapped in Iraq whose news was prominently aired.