No sign of missing Indians in Iraq where they were last seen
The Iraqi prison where the External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said the 39 missing Indians were last located, has reportedly been reduced to rubble with no signs of the citizens. A Congress leader then took a dig at Swaraj saying, "minister misled the nation that missing boys are lodged in a jail in Badush but...jail has been destroyed by ISIS."
Less than a week after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj indicated that 39 Indians missing from Iraq since 2014 might be alive in a prison in the civil war-ravaged country, an India Today team travelled all the way to Mosul but found no sign of them in the restive region."The day the Iraqi PM declared Mosul is liberated from ISIS, I asked (minister of state) VK Singh to go to Erbil," Sushma Swaraj had said. "Sources there told VK Singh that the missing Indians are most probably in a jail in Badush where fighting is still going on".Soon after, India Today's crew set out for Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, in search of the lost people. WATCH: India Today ground report: Mystery over 39 Indians missing in Iraq deepens On the way, the first Indian media outlet to reach Mosul after the fall of ISIS, found that the bastion of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was reduced to a rubble.In 2014, the leader of the terror group declared a global caliphate from Mosul after his jehadi guerrillas overran the ancient city.The mosque, from where he made the announcement, appeared to be a relic of its past.There was, however, no clarity about al-Baghdadi's whereabouts. An estimated 40,000 people have been killed in Mosul, with many more still unaccounted for.In the city of Erbil, near Mosul, Red Crescent manager Hawre Ihsan Sadiq admitted he had received no information about the missing Indians.In Mosul, the heart of the conflict, India Today's crew navigated its way through some of the potentially dangerous zones to Badush prison, where it found the jail itself had been flattened to the ground.There was no sign of the prison, let alone the missing Indians.WHAT INDIA TODAY SAW IN IRAQBaghdadi's caliphate has turned into debris and the historic old city of Mosul is now destroyed beyond recognition.The Al Nuri Mosque from where Abu Bakr Baghdadi announced his caliphate barely manages to stand. Undiffused car bombs are still lying around and the stench of death is difficult to escape.Days after the liberation of Mosul from the clutches of ISIS, the people who inhabit the area have been shifted to refugee camps and Iraqi security forces stand guard there.There is no clarity whether Baghdadi has been killed or is still alive but there is nothing left. There is only destruction as far as one's eyes can see. Human beings are nowhere to be found but the stench of rotten bodies dominate the air.The counter-terrorism unit of Iraq says the mosque was bombed by ISIS itself. They said many car bombs were used by ISIS because they wanted to destroy the area entirely.An estimated 40,000 people have been killed in Mosul and many bodies lie under the rubble.THE INDIAN COMMUNITYTirupati works at the famous Indian restaurant in Erbil. He hails from Hyderabad and has been in the capital of Kurdistan regional government for the last three years. He says Erbil is safe but ever since the abduction of the 39 Indians, the Indian community has been worried."We are very sad about them that they are stuck there...that where they are...I feel very very sad. We want to know where they are. Whether they are safe or if they are in any trouble," said Tirupati.He also added, "Mosul people are coming here, they used to live there but the Indian people are stuck there."About 6,000 Indians live in Erbil and at the beginning of the conflict 22,000 lived in Iraq. As with other parts of the Middle East, Indians come to Iraq looking for work in construction, oil refineries, marketing and as engineers. Middle-East provides India with a high amount in remittances and livelihood.But the fate of the 39 Indians has kept not just them but the entire country concerned.RED CRESCENT HAS NO CLUEIndia Today correspondent went to the office of the Red Crescent in Erbil which had given some inputs about Indians to the Ministry of External Affairs.Hawre Ihsan Sadiq, who has been the manager of Red Crescent's Erbil branch since September 2014, said his people are on the ground. He admits that if there is any information that needs to be shared it would go through him.On being asked: "If Red Crescent volunteers or anyone finds any information on Indians, will that come to you?", Sadiq replied: "yes of course. May be some security info won't"."Some information may be available with the Baghdad headquarters but since ISIS's presence in Mosul nothing much has come up."WEST MOSULAfter crossing 12-13 security checks and driving through endless destroyed and uninhabited homes, India Today reached Hamadiya where Christians lived before the ISIS came.Brigadier Abdul Amin-al-Kazraji in-charge of the famous golden division told India Today that he holds India with regard but has no information on the missing Indians.Brigadier Kazraji provided India Today team with security to let it get to Badush prison where EAM Sushma Swaraj says that it is likely that the 39 Indians are still there.The India Today team was informed that it is still dangerous in West Mosul and that there are sleeper cells.THE FINAL MILEThe India Today team finally reached close to the prison where another local team is invited to facilitate us.The team of men lead the India Today team to a path full of mines and they watch their steps carefully to reach Badush prison where, as per the intelligence information that Sushma Swaraj has received, the abducted Indians could possibly be present.However, the information is absolutely incorrect because the building we are being told was destroyed by ISIS itself years ago and the area was liberated a few months ago by the counter-terrorism unit of Iraq. What is left are the remnants of what was once a prison where ISIS had come to get some of their Islamist brothers released from and in the process also ended up occupying Mosul.The question hence continues to be where are the 39 Indians? 63 km west of Mosul lies Tal Afar which is still firmly under ISIS's control.Brig Abdul Amin told India Today, "It is possible. They take hostages to Tal Afar. They did that with other hostages from East Mosul".While the brigadier refuses to comment on Indians, he provides us with a glimmer of that ever lasting hope that may be ISIS has taken them to Tal Afar.The Indian government is hoping for a miracle and so are we.CONGRESS TO TARGET SUSHMACongress will bring a privilege motion against Sushma Swaraj for allegedly misleading India on the 39 missing Indians. Pratap Singh Bajwa has accused Sushma Swaraj of deliberately lying about the condition of the missing Indians.Also read:No confirmed information on 39 missing Indians, Iraqi ambassador tells India Today