Abducted Indians in Iraq ‘blew chance to flee’, West Bengal workers blamed

An alleged middleman involved in sending workers to Iraq has claimed the abducted Indians “had a chance” to return before they were captured, but failed to take it after some workers from West Bengal, who were part of the group, refused to leave until they had got their “salary and overtime pay”.
“The employer advised them to leave, even offering to pay for their tickets. But workers hailing from West Bengal were adamant on taking their salary and overtime pay first,” the middleman, who identified himself as Rajbir, told The Indian Express over the phone Thursday.
Rajbir, it is learnt, operated from Fatehgarh Churian to send Punjabi workers abroad. According to the family of one of the 40 men held captive, he is a resident of Ramdass in Amritsar district.
“I spoke to Nishan,” Rajbir said, referring to an Indian among those believed abducted. “He told me that their employer had warned them to leave, but the insistence of the Bengali workers complicated things.”