Three Indians stranded in Myanmar, lured via Telegram, allegedly held by scam syndicate, appeal for rescue

“If you cannot rescue us from this place within two days, we may not survive. Our lives are in danger.” In a video file seen by The Wire and sent to their families, three Indian nationals spoke in hushed tones, their voices trembling with fear, pleading for an urgent rescue from Myanmar, where they were allegedly lured by fraudulent job offers and are now being held captive. The three men have been identified as Mohammad Usman Ansari and Mohammad Hasan Raza from Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, and Anuranjan Kumar from Sitamarhi, Bihar. They were allegedly lured by promises of lucrative jobs in Myawaddy, Myanmar, through a channel on the social media platform Telegram. They were promised employment as construction workers but are now allegedly being held against their will and forced to participate in online scam operations. Multiple video appeals have been released, urging the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the Indian government, and the Indian Embassy in Myanmar to help rescue them before any untoward incident occurs. According to their families, they were contacted on Telegram and, after an online interview, were offered a salary of ₹100,000 per month by the alleged employers. Details of the specific Telegram channel could not be immediately verified as only the victims themselves would know them. “Hasan is the sole breadwinner in my family. How will we survive without him? ” his father, Munawwar Raza, told The Wire over the phone. “My son has been taken to a dense forest 750 kilometres away from Yangon. Nobody knows what will happen to him,” he added. In another video, Raza’s father is seen tearfully pleading, “Please bring my son back alive,” urging the MEA and the Indian Embassy in Myanmar to intervene immediately. Hasan’s brother, Mohammad Amir, alleged that the Indian Embassy had informed them that the area where the victims are held is outside the embassy’s effective jurisdiction, but officials assured them, “We will rescue you as soon as possible.” Amir told The Wire that despite repeated assurances from the embassy for over 40 days, no action has been taken. Meanwhile, Rehana Khatoon, the mother of Usman Ansari, appeared visibly distressed as she began speaking about her son in another video appeal. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she said, “My son is only being fed rice and potatoes. He has diabetes. The salary he was promised was enough to feed the family, so I let him go.” Details of the incident According to the “employment contracts” sent to them on April 20, 2026, Anuranjan Kumar was appointed as a “Construction Engineer,” Mohammad Hasan Raza as a “General Constructor,” and Mohammad Usman Ansari as a “Construction Architect” in Myanmar. The letters were issued in the name of ‘New Energy Company Limited’ for Kumar and Raza, and ‘Wu Xinsun Company Limited’ for Ansari, with the addresses of both companies listed as Road 20, Latha Township, Yangon Region, Myanmar. A second document, addressed to the Ministry of Immigration and Population of Myanmar, requested a Business E-Visa. In this letter, the company director, U Chit Paing, provided his passport number, contact details, and email, stating that he would take full legal responsibility to ensure that the said men strictly adhered to the permitted business activities. The three men departed for Myanmar on May 2. However, upon arrival, their passports, visas, and other identification documents were allegedly confiscated by the purported employers. They also alleged in their video that they were subjected to severe physical abuse. “We are trying to contact the Indian Embassy, but they hang up the phone within seconds,” said Anuranjan Kumar. “We keep sending our videos to the embassy, but nothing is happening.” The three men are among thousands of people who have fallen victim to the notorious Myawaddy scam centres. The Indian Embassy in Yangon has stated that it has been in serious discussions with the relevant authorities regarding the issue of Indian nationals trapped in these cyber scam networks. ‘Outside effective jurisdiction’ According to embassy officials, the Myawaddy region is not under the effective control of the Myanmar government, which poses significant obstacles and delays in rescue operations. The Indian Embassy in Yangon stated that since July 2022, 2,414 Indian nationals have been repatriated with the assistance of Myanmar and Thai authorities. Despite regular advisories from the embassy cautioning against fraudulent job offers, many continue to fall prey to promises of high salaries and job security. On May 19, 2026, Ajay Kumar Lallu, a former Congress MLA from Kushinagar, wrote to the Ministry of External Affairs requesting the immediate rescue and repatriation of the three men, but received no response. In a subsequent letter seen by The Wire, Lallu stated that the men were in severe mental, financial, and humanitarian distress.