Letter to BS: Why did Centre keep families of Mosul victims in the dark?

This refers to “Sushma Swaraj confirms death of 39 Indians missing in Iraq” (March 21). The Bharatiya Janata Party’s confirmation in Parliament has come as a bolt from the blue. 

The Indians, a majority of them from Punjab, were killed by the trigger-happy ISIS and buried underneath a hillock at Badoosh near Mosul. One wonders why the Centre kept the family members of the deceased in the dark despite a credible account given by the lone survivor, Harjit Masih. 

The government also showed itself in poor light by misleading the families of the dead and claiming that the hostages were alive. One can well imagine the trauma that the victims' kith and kin must have endured on account of the long and agonising wait. Our heart goes out to them.

N J Ravi Chander Bengaluru

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