A woman from Hyderabad has appealed to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to help bring back her husband languishing in a Thailand jail. The Thailand Police arrested Shaik Ashraf, 36, upon his entry from Myanmar, where he was allegedly trafficked for internet scam operations by a company.
According to his family, Ashraf, a resident of the Afsar Khan colony near Hyderabad’s Golconda, went to Dubai in search of a job in August 2023. Over there, he was allegedly lured by a Chinese travel agency who promised a job in an IT company in Thailand. In August 2024, he flew from Dubai to Bangkok, where he was allegedly received by another agent, who took him to Mae Sot, another city in Thailand. Ashraf’s family said he was taken in a boat to an undisclosed location and asked to engage in internet scams as a job.
“After six months he was trapped and after three months of my complaint we received an email from Ministry of External Affairs, Govt of India that Shaik Ashraf is in custody of Thailand Police and no assurance has bee given to rescue him. Kindly ask the Indian Embassy in Thailand to rescue him and bring back home as soon as possible,” said social worker Amjed Ullah Khan said in a letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar Thursday. The MEA is yet to respond to the letter from Khan.
.@Drsjaishankar Sir, One Shaik Ashraf resident of H No: 9-3-58/B/124/AK/99, Afsar Khan Colony, Langar House, Golconda, Hyderabad, Telangana State holder of Passport No: R2088006 who went to Dubai, UAE during Aug 2023 but could not find any job there. He was lured by a Chinese… pic.twitter.com/KTA0bGaC7v
– Amjed ULLAH Khan Mbt (@AMJedmbt) February 4, 2025
The family said whenever Ashraf refused to do the scam job, he was tortured physically in Myanmar. Social worker Amjed Ullah Khan said the company demanded $5,000 to release him. In November 2024, Khan wrote to the Indian embassies in Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia to rescue Ashraf.
The family said with no support from the Union government, Ashraf’s wife Jabeen Sultana borrowed Rs 3.5 lakh and paid off the company to release her husband. However, the Thailand Police arrested him as soon as he entered the country from Myanmar and sent him to jail.
“I am extremely worried for my husband’s safety. We didn’t have the money to release him from Myanmar and they used to make him stand on one foot carrying 20 liters water can as a punishment. Then, I borrowed money at 10% of interest to arrange 3500 USD. And now he is in jail. With great difficulty, we got him released. Till he returns home, I am living in hope,” Sultana told indianexpress.com
