No hard evidence but Indians captured in Iraq not killed: Swaraj

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Friday said the government has got information from six sources that 39 Indians in captivity in Iraq have not been killed, and was working to secure their release.

Sushma Swaraj told the Lok Sabha that the government has no direct contact with the persons in captivity and has established contacts at highest level with the countries in the gulf to secure release of the kidnapped Indians.

The Indians were working for a Turkish construction company in Mosul when they were abducted in June by suspected Islamic State militants.

Swaraj, who also spoke on the issue in the Rajya Sabha, said there was no hard evidence that the kidnapped Indians have been killed or that they were alive.

The minister, who spoke after Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia cited reports that the Indians in captivity have been killed, said that all such information had only one source.

She said the source was Harjeet Massih who had escaped the kidnappers and was now in protective care of the government.

"One person is saying they have been killed. Six sources are saying they have not been killed. The messages have come in writing," she said.

Swaraj said she had shared the message with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Minister for Food Processing Harsimrat Kaur.

"The message comes everyday," she said.

Swaraj said the Red Crescent was among the organisations that had said that Indians in captivity have not been killed.

The minister said Massih had said that the Indians and Bangladeshis were taken away from their place of captivity by the captors in the middle of June and were later segregated.

She said Massih had also said that Indians were taken to a jungle and killed and that he managed to escape, but there were inconsistencies in his version.

Swaraj said the government had an option to stop the search on the basis of the version of the individual or continue search on the basis of information from other sources.

"There is no direct connect (with the victims). There is no hard evidence that they are alive and no hard evidence that they have been killed," she said.

She refuted opposition allegations that the government was trying to mislead the country.

"Why should we mislead? We are trying to secure their release," she said.

Swaraj said she goes to sleep only after taking an update about Indians in captivity.