Family members of over 70 labourers have sought PM Modi's help.
The families of over 70 labourers, allegedly held captive in Sri Lanka by the management of a private steel company, have sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's help.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, they have urged the central government to help the labourers come back to India. 44 of the men are from Bihar and the rest are from across India.
"You can see how poor we are. We send our sons to work abroad so that we can improve our financial condition. How can we assume which company is good and which is not," said Suresh Gupta, father of a stranded labourer.
The men went to the island nation in June last year, reportedly to work for a private steel company in Colombo.
Last month, some of them called up their relatives and claimed they had not been paid in two months. Their passports and work visas had been confiscated by officials of the steel company, they said. The men didn't even have enough money to buy food, they said.
The workers have alleged that their employers threatened to get them arrested when they demanded their due salaries.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has talked to the Indian envoy in Colombo about the issue, according to a tweet by the ministry. Their repatriation, said the tweet, is being arranged soon.
The Ministry also tweeted to say the Indian Mission in Colombo is in touch with the Lankan company and the matter will be resolved soon.