39 missing Indians in Iraq: It's a sin to declare them dead, says Sushma Swaraj in LS

New Delhi: External Affair Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj, on Wednesday, said that she will not declare 39 Indians missing in Iraq dead till she will get concrete evidence. "It is a sin to declare them dead. I will not be doing that," Sushma Swaraj said in Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament.

I've been accused of misleading. How can I mislead when there is no confirmation of their deaths?:Sushma in LS on #39Indians missing in Iraq pic.twitter.com/7AeILlCbx6

— ABP News (@abpnewstv) July 26, 2017

"I've been accused of misleading. How can I mislead when there is no confirmation of their deaths?" EAM added. Interestingly, ABP News was the first channel to break this story in November 2014 when two Bangladeshi workers informed the channel that 39 Indians missing in Iraq shot dead by ISIS. The two Bangladeshi nationals working for a construction company in Iraq mentioned about one Indian worker Harjeet Masih who miraculously escaped from the clutches of the militants. Harjeet informed Shafi and Hasan that he witnessed the killings of all his Indian co-workers. ABP News Correspondent Jagwinder Patial who had visited Erbil along with spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar met these two Bangladeshi workers Shafi Islam and Hasan who gave chilling details about the ordeal they & Indians suffered at the hands of the ISIS. Meanwhile, family members of these Indians, who were abducted in Mosul, expressed pain and dejection. Iraqi Foreign minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari who visited India said that he had no "substantial evidence" on whether the missing persons were killed or alive. The Iraqi minister also stressed that his country is putting best efforts to get information about the 39 missing Indians.