KT Rama Rao urges Centre to rescue 29 Telangana men held captive in Saudi

Hyderabad: NRI affairs minister K.T. Rama Rao has urged External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to rescue 29 migrant workers from Telangana, who have been held captive by Al-Hajry Overseas Company for last 12 days in Saudi Arabia.

In a letter to Ms Swaraj, Mr Rao said that the Saudi employer has locked the workers in a room in Kanji city of Saudi Arabia without giving food, water and medicine to them.

He provided the contact number of one Mr B. Shekar, who contacted the TS government for help. These workers had requested leave to visit home town, but the company wanted each of them to pay US $50,000 and also refused to provide travel expenses, Mr Rao wrote.

The shocked workers approached a Court, which directed the employer to bear all travel expenses and send the staff within three days. However, in the meantime the company illegally confined them in a room, Mr Rao said, appealing to the minister to intervene and save the lives of the helpless workers.