Cheated by Travel Agents, 12 Indian Youths Land in Armenia Jail

New Delhi: Rajya Sabha MP Balbir Singh Seechewal has reportedly got in touch with around a dozen Indian youths who are stranded in Armenian jail as well as with their families back home, reported The Tribune.

A video of these Indian youths stranded in an Armenian jail recently surfaced. They were reportedly arrested by the Armenian police while crossing the Armenia-Georgia border illegally around February-March 2024.

Seechewal had shared the video of these youths on his Facebook page a few days ago after their families began reaching out to him for help.

The jailed youths fear that they could be sentenced to three to six years of imprisonment in Armenia and have sought help from the Indian government.

So far, the identity of only seven of them has been known. They are Ram Pal from Khanna in Ludhiana, Rajot Singh from Patiala, Gurmeet Singh from Kaithal, Shivam Kumar from Karnal, Happy Singh from Pilibhit, Major Singh from Uttarakhand and Maniruzzama from West Bengal.

The Indian Embassy officials also reached out to them in jail. These youths through a video on social media alleged that they were duped and misguided by travel agents and are lodged in Armavir jail in Armenia.

Seechewal said that the Ministry of External Affairs had started efforts for the release of these youths. He appealed to the youth to be cautious of fake travel agents and not to risk their lives.