Akali MP seeks Centre’s help for Punjabis held hostage in Libya

New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) A member of parliament from Punjab on Tuesday sought the Centre's intervention to secure the release of three Punjabis allegedly held hostage by their employers in Libya.

Shiromani Akali Dal's Lok Sabha member from Anandpur Sahib, Prem Singh Chandumajra during Zero Hour on Tuesday drew the central government's attention to the plight of the three Punjabis held hostage in Libya.

Those held hostage are 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, Chandumajra said.

The MP said the three were allegedly kept in illegal confinement by their employers who had taken away their passports. They had not been paid their salaries, he added.

"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. Their families have come to know about their plight from some other Punjabis working there as they were not even being allowed to contact anybody by phone," the MP said.