The Akali Dal MP from Anandur Sahib and party General Secretary Prof. Prem Singh Chandumajra has demanded immediate intervention by the Centre to secure the release of three Punjabis held hostage by their employers in Libya.He drew the attention of the government to the plight of these three Punjabis in the Lok Sabha during Zero Hour, today.They include Sarabjit Singh of Latala village, Titu Bansal of Bowani village and Malkit Singh from Ghaloti village, all three from Ludhiana district. All of them are welders.Prof. Chandumajra said this was an unfortunate situation as instead of releasing their salaries, the employers had kept them in confinement. He said the centre must take up this issue on priority.The families of the three alleged that their passports had been seized by the officials of the oil company in which they were working and hence they were not in a position to return.
They had left for Libya on April 28 last.Their families have come to know about their plight from some other Punjabi working there as they were not even being allowed to contact anybody on phone.They are not even being allowed to get in touch with anybody. Their problem started as they demanded release of salary.Prof. Chandumajra said the government must take up such issue on priority and demanded their immediate release.He also urged the government to evolve some safeguards for the people seeking employment in these countries as the Punjabis seeking green pastures were increasingly getting into trouble.