39 Indians dead in Mosul: Harsimrat Kaur Badal says deeply shocked to hear from Sushma Swaraj

31 out of the 39 dead belong to the state of Punjab.

Image grab: ABP News

New Delhi: After External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in the parliament said that the thirty-nine Indians kidnapped by the Islamic State in Iraq's Mosul in 2014 are dead, the Union Cabinet Minister and MP from Bathinda, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, said that I am thankful to Sushma Swaraj for fighting this battle of trying to find them. On Twitter, Harsimrat wrote, Deeply shocked to hear from Sushma Swaraj Ji about the 39 missing Indians in Iraq, being dead. They were reportedly abducted by ISIS in 2014. My heart goes out to their families who have lost their hope to bring them back alive. May the almighty grant peace to the departed souls.

Deeply shocked to hear from @SushmaSwaraj Ji about the 39 missing Indians in Iraq, being dead. They were reportedly abducted by ISIS in 2014. My heart goes out to their families who have lost their hope to bring them back alive. May the almighty grant peace to the departed souls.

— Harsimrat Kaur Badal (@HarsimratBadal_) March 20, 2018

Harsimrat Kaur Badal said Swaraj did not declare them dead till she had some concrete proof. Swaraj and I personally met the family of the abducted for about 12-15 times. Today in the parliament, Swaraj told that the confirmation of news was given by Martyrs' Foundation which conducted the DNA tests of the bodies. She said the mass grave had exactly 39 bodies, with distinctive features like long hair, non-Iraqi shoes, and IDs. "Their bodies were spotted using deep penetration radar from mount in Badoosh. The bodies were then sent to Baghdad for DNA testing. The bodies were exhumed from mass graves and their identities confirmed by DNA tests. DNA testing by Martyrs Foundation has established identity of 38 Indians while there has been 70 per cent matching of the DNA for the 39th person," she said. The minister said thirty-one nationals belonged to Punjab, four were from Himachal Pradesh, while the rest were from Bihar and West Bengal. The bodies will be handed over to their respective families so that final rites can be conducted.