New Delhi. At least 150 Indian IT professionals have been taken hostage at a site on the Myanmar-Thailand border. These software engineers, mostly from Tamil Nadu and Kerala, were lured by job offers by Chinese companies based in Dubai. Now they are being forced to commit crimes like cryptocurrency and cyber fraud.
In July this year, 32 such Indians were freed after such a case of fraud came to light. At the same time, the Indian Foreign Ministry has said that continuous efforts are being made to free the other hostages. However, a rebel group in Myanmar is becoming a major obstacle in their efforts.
According to a report in the English newspaper New Indian Express, the National Liberation Army (KNLA) is said to be a heavily armed insurgent group that will fight the military junta in Myanmar. It is suspected that the Malaysian-Chinese gang that took Indian IT professionals hostage is under the protection of the KNLA.
Sources close to Indian security agencies revealed that Myawadi district, located in Myanmar’s Karen state, is under the control of the KNLA and has witnessed frequent violent clashes between the armed cadres of the insurgent group and the Myanmar Army in recent days. The KNLA’s heavy presence in this militarily troubled district has also prevented Indian officials from going anywhere near the Thailand-Myanmar border.
Giving information in this regard last Thursday, the Ministry of External Affairs said that 32 Indians who were “illegally held hostage” in Myanmar have been safely released and every effort is being made to release the rest. The Ministry of External Affairs has also advised Indian citizens to beware of such companies offering jobs.
The Ministry of External Affairs is trying to use resources available in Myanmar and Thailand to help rescue these software engineers, but these efforts have been delayed due to a lack of accurate information on the ground around Mywadi.
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Tags: Jobs News, myanmar, software company
First Published: 27 September 2022, 23:44 IST
