'They stripped us naked, beat us and forced us to drink urine:' Punjabi men kidnapped in Iran narrate their ordeal

The Punjabi men, who were kidnapped by Pakistani human smugglers in Tehran, have opened up about the harrowing days spent as hostages under the custody of Pakistani human smugglers who brutally tortured them.

Jaspal Singh from Nawanshahr, Amritpal Singh from Hoshiarpur and Husanpreet Singh from Sangrur districts were rescued by Iranian police upon the request of the Indian Embassy earlier this month. The trio were en route to Australia illegally when they landed in Tehran for a stopover. However, what was supposed to be a brief halt in Tehran turned into a nightmare when they were kidnapped and brutally tortured for ransom. They were rescued on June 1 and spent the next 21 days in a residence provided by the Indian Embassy in Tehran before being evacuated to India as part of the recent 'Operation Sindh'.

Jaspal Singh said their journey to Australia began on April 1. He was informed that there would be a month-long stay in Tehran before heading to Australia. The smuggler from Hoshiarpur handed them over to the intermediaries based in Iran on arrival in Tehran. "We arrived in Iran on May 1. We were told that we would have a 6-7 hour layover at Tehran airport and had to stay inside the airport. But the intermediary later said that we would have to stay for a day and a half," Jaspal told BBC Persian.

"I arrived in Iran between 8 am and 9 am. Hussanpreet and Amritpal Singh arrived around 2:30 pm. Our broker asked for photos and we sent them. He then sent our numbers and photos to another Pakistani broker. We were told that the Pakistani would come to pick us up. We were told that our ticket to Sydney was via Dubai," he said.

The trio were picked up from the airport by a man who put them in a car. "We drove for about an hour and then were put in two separate cars. Our phones were taken away. They asked us for the dollars and euros we had, and when we refused, they beat us severely. They took our clothes off, and attacked us with belts and knives," he said. 

"They beat us severely. They stripped us naked, beat us with belts, and stabbed us. They forced us to drink each other's urine," he said.

The torture went on for 10 to 12 days. "They gave us some pills and moved us to another house. At the second house, they gave us food and told us to take a bath and change our clothes," he said. The kidnappers didn't let them contact their families and informed their relatives back home that the men were dead. 

"They took off our clothes and tied our mouths. They filmed us bleeding and sent it to our families and asked them for money, but our families refused to pay until we were handed over to them. But, the kidnappers wouldn't budge. They tortured us with chicken skewers and rolling pins and twisted our fingers with pliers and beat our feet with sticks," Jaspal added.

Jaspal claimed his family paid the kidnappers Rs 100,000, but they took the money and broke their promise. There were over 10 Pakistani men in custody, some of who too had paid the ransom. 

Jaspal says that the Iranian intelligence police rescued them on June 1. "Because of us, the Pakistanis were also saved," Jaspal said. "They took us to the police station and interrogated us. They asked each one of us how we got here."

Hussanpreet Singh too had a similar tale. His intermediary booked his ticket first for April 22, which was cancelled. It was rebooked for April 26, which too was cancelled until he could travel on April 31. He arrived in Iran on May 1 and was told about the three-hour stopover which extended to a day and a half. The broker told him that he was being put up at the Mina Hotel in Tehran. "Initially, they demanded Rs 2 crore from my family for my release, then they reduced it to Rs 1 crore, and finally they agreed for Rs 54 lakh from the families of all three of us," says Hussanpreet. 

He says most of the kidnappers were Pakistani and spoke Pakistani Punjabi. There was also an Iranian among them. "I have knife wounds in eight places on my body, and they rarely gave us anything to eat or drink".

"The Pakistanis were also tortured. Four of them paid the ransom but weren't still released,"  Hussainpreet said, thanking the Indian embassy officials in Iran and the Iranian agents.

 

Middle East