New Delhi: Three Indian men from Punjab — Sangrur’s Hushanpreet Singh, SBS Nagar’s Jaspal Singh, and Hoshiarpur’s Amritpal Singh — have gone missing in Iran, leading the Indian Embassy in Tehran to make an urgent effort to trace them. According to information, the three men went missing on May 1 soon after reaching the Iranian capital.
Official sources stated that the relatives of the missing men brought it to the notice of the Indian authorities initially, after which the matter was pursued with the Iranian government by the Embassy. In a formal release, the Indian Embassy asserted that the matter has been brought forcefully to the notice of Iranian authorities and that all possible efforts were being made to locate the three men. The Embassy is also keeping the families in regular contact, bringing them up to date on the progress of the investigation.
Initial reports indicate that the three had been enticed by a Punjab-based agent who offered them passage to Australia on a roundabout journey with Dubai and Iran as the connecting points. The agent is said to have booked their tickets and promised them a temporary stay in Iran. Upon arrival in Tehran on May 1, however, the men vanished. Relatives of the victims received horror messages later stating that the men had been kidnapped.
The case turned dark when the abductors reached out to the families and demanded a ransom of Rs 1 crore, reports suggested. The families divulged that they were shown a gruesome video by the abductors featuring the men gagged with yellow ropes and bleeding from their arms. In the video, the abductors made death threats to the victims if the ransom was not received. Communication was temporarily kept up through the kidnappers’ telephones, enabling the hostages to communicate with their relatives. All communication, though, has since stopped as of May 11.
The families have further accused that the agent from Hoshiarpur who booked their travel is now missing, further complicating the case. Although the Indian authorities have not yet confirmed the role of a trafficking or smuggling network in the case, the likelihood of human trafficking has not been excluded. The Indian government has reaffirmed its resolve to guarantee the safety of Indians abroad and is coordinating closely with Iranian authorities to resolve the issue at the earliest possible time.