HYDERABAD: A 36-year-old man from Hyderabad was trafficked to Myanmar and subjected to physical torture when he refused to engage in internet fraud. His family, while bringing this to the notice of Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, said they could get him released from there.
However, after he entered Thailand, he was arrested by the Thailand police and was jailed there. The family urged the minister to intervene and get him released from the Thailand jail and repatriated to India.
Shaik Ashraf, a resident of Afsar Khan Colony, Langar House, Golconda, Hyderabad, Telangana State, went to Dubai, UAE, in August 2023, looking for a job but could not find one, his family said. At this time, he was lured by a Chinese travel agency that promised him a job in an IT company in Thailand.
On August 29, 2024, he went from Dubai to Bangkok, Thailand, where he was received by another agent and taken to Mae Sot in Thailand. There, he was received by another agent and taken in a boat towards Myanmar and then to an unknown location. The family said he was asked to engage in internet-related fraud at the place as part of his work.
“As he refused to do that, he was physically tortured and administered electric shocks,” the family said. The company reportedly demanded that he pay 5,000 US Dollars to release him. The family said it brought the plight of Shaik Ashraf to the Indian Embassy in Thailand, the Indian Embassy in Myanmar, and the Indian Embassy in Cambodia.
Social worker and MBT leader Amjed Ullah Khan said since the family received no help, Ashraf’s wife pursued the matter herself. “He was released, and after entering Thailand, he was arrested by Thailand police and sent to jail,” he said. Amjed Ullah Khan said after he wrote to the MEA, he got a response confirming that he was in the custody of the Thailand police, but no assurance was given that he would be helped to return to India.
Urging that the MEA help Ashraf, Amjed Ullah Khan said through the modus operandi that was adopted, many Indians fell prey and were trafficked to Myanmar, where they were suffering.
