After External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj confirmed the death of 39 Indians in Iraq, families of those killed said they were 'betrayed' by the government for giving false hope that their loved ones were alive.
After External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj confirmed the death of 39 Indians in Iraq, families of those killed said they were ''betrayed'' by the government for giving false hope that their loved ones were alive.
Gurpinder Kaur, sister of Manjinder Singh who was among the 39 Indians killed in Iraq's Mosul, slammed the government for giving her family any hope that Singh was alive and demanded DNA report.
"Why did she keep saying they're alive and she'll bring them back? She could've said she'll bring them back only if they're alive. I want to see DNA reports. We'll get answers only after meeting her," Kaur was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Kaur also blasted Sushma Swaraj for announcing the news on television instead of her family being privately informed.
"We demand from govt to provide us DNA reports. It's being politicised. We had been running from pillar to post since 4 yrs and now we're being told via TV that we lost one of our own," she said. "Yes, she was supposed to announce this in Parliament first but he was part of our family. All she cared about was her reputation. She used to say they're like her children, if that's the case where's her sorrow?
We should have been contacted as soon as they received the information. Had that been done it would not have been such a huge blow. We feel betrayed from all sides, Kaur further said.
Wife of another Indian national killed in the now ISIS-liberated city expressed shock over the news and said they were earlier informed that her husband was 'alright'.
"He left for Mosul in 2013-14. They had been saying that all of them are alright and now they say this. I don't even know what to say," Harjit Kaur, wife of dead Gurcharan Singh was quoted as saying by ANI.
Another father, said he didn't know how to make any demands from the government as he already lost his son. "He had left for Iraq in 2013. He used to talk to me every Friday. Govt kept saying that they are all safe. What demand do I make from them? I have already lost him," said Rajesh Chand, the father of Himachal Pradesh's Aman who was killed in Iraq.
Puroshottam Tiwari, uncle of deceased Bihar's Vidya Bhushan Tiwari said: "I don't know what to say. Since 2014 I had been pleading with the govt to bring him back somehow and today they say that he is no more."
Manjeet Kaur, wife of deceased Punjab's Davinder Singh, said: My husband went to Iraq in 2011 and I spoke to him last on 15 June'14. We were always told us that they were alive. We don't demand anything from the government.
"He had left for Iraq 7 years ago. We last talked to each other in 2015. They had taken DNA samples 2-3 months back. I don't know what to say," Kamaljeet Kaur, wife of Roop Lal, from Punjab, who was among the 39 Indians killed in Iraq's Mosul was quoted as saying by ANI.
"We had got information that that my brother was abducted by terrorists, after that nothing was known about his whereabouts. My DNA test was done twice, but we received no information," brother of another Indian national killed in Iraq told ANI.
Another victim Surjit Kumar Menka's wife said: My husband went to Iraq in 2013 and he was kidnapped in 2014. We don't demand anything from the government. I have a small child, I have no support," said wife of another victim.
Earlier, Swaraj said she never kept the families of 39 missing Indians in the dark about their fate neither did she gave them any false hope. "In all my statements in and outside the Parliament, I always said that I did not have the proof that they were alive or dead. I never kept anyone in dark," Swaraj said.
We maintained this in 2014 and 2017, she said.
"Some kin of the victims have questioned as to why they were not told about the deaths before the parliament. It is a parliamentary convention to first inform the house if the Parliament is in session. It was my duty to make a statement in the Parliament first," she told reporters at a press briefing in the capital.
Swaraj on Tuesday confirmed 39 Indians abducted by ISIS from Mosul in Iraq four years back have been killed. The External Affairs Minister gave the information in the Rajya Sabha.
"Deep penetration radar confirmed that all Indians were dead after all bodies were exhumed," Swaraj said.
"Mortal remains were sent to Baghdad for verification of bodies. DNA samples of relatives were sent to Iraq in which four state governments - Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar were involved," Swaraj said.
Swaraj said the mass grave had exactly 39 bodies, with distinctive features like long hair, non-Iraqi shoes and IDs. DNA testing by Martyrs Foundation has established identity of 38 Indians while there has been 70 per cent matching of the DNA for the 39th person, she said.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "'Feel betrayed, want to see DNA reports,' say families of Indians killed in Iraq's Mosul")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}