Khan (in middle): Missing link

Jamshedpur, May 10: Barely 24 hours after the arrest of Kabir Ahmed Khan, a local placement agent, parents of 24 youths, who were taken to Malaysia for jobs, were threatened of dire consequences.

Khan, who was arrested from his residence during a raid at Dhatkidih yesterday, has been forwarded to jail for allegedly luring the youths to Malaysia on the pretext of providing them lucrative jobs.

A parent, on condition of anonymity, said: “I received a threat call this morning from a number in Malaysia. A person threatened to kill my son, who is presently working in a plantation company in Malaysia, if I don’t withdraw the case. I could hear my son’s cries in the background as they tortured him.”

A section of the parents also met Ranjit Roshan, officer in-charge, Kadma police station, today morning and apprised him of the developments. The parents have decided to meet superintendent of police Pankaj Kumar Darad and deputy commissioner Nitin Madan Kulkarni tomorrow, in this regard.

The local placement agency run by Kabir Ahmed Khan helped send these youths to Malaysia for a fee of Rs 65,000 per head. Some parents had lodged an FIR with the Kadma police in April against Khan and one Bilal Gazi, when they came to know that their wards were subjected to ill-treatment by their employers at Malaysia.

During police interrogation, Khan accepted he had taken money for taking about 24 candidates to Malaysia but said the blame was to be placed on Bilal Gazi, another agent based at Calcutta, who completed the necessary formalities such as making passports and visas before sending the youths to Malaysia in December, 2006.

Darad said though the district police have little role to play in such matters, whatever steps are required would be taken at the earliest to bring back the candidates who have been kept hostage in Malaysia.

Kuala Lumpur-based companies — Peladangan (a plantation company) and Hanifa Super Market — had hired the youths, who were mostly from Dhatkidih.

They were allegedly subjected to physical and mental torture. This came to light when one boy called his parents in April and revealed that neither were they being paid the promised salaries, nor were they provided proper accommodation and food.