I was sold for $4,000, says Pudukkottai man back from Cambodia

TIRUCHY: After spending the last two months as a bonded labourer doing illegal activities like online fraud, a man from Pudukkottai finally managed to reach home on Wednesday with the help of Indian embassy officials. According to him, there are around 400 Indians who are languishing in the custody of the gang in Cambodia. When Syeed Ibrahim (27) from Pudukkottai approached Shanawaz and Mubarak, agents in Thillai Nagar, for overseas employment, they arranged a business visa to Cambodia in July for Rs 3 lakh. There, a local agent came to pick him and took him to a group. “Only later did I realised that I was sold for $4,000,” he said. They forced him to do illegal work like online frauds, refused food and even administered electric shock when he refused, Ibrahim alleged. “Later, I managed to contact Indian officials who helped me return,” he said. There are around 400 bonded labourers under the custody of the people there, he said, urging the governments to help repatriate them.