A 30-year-old man from Nashik, who has been trapped in a cyber scam camp in Myanmar since April, has managed to contact his family and reveal the harsh conditions inside. His account has brought fresh attention to the plight of at least 25 people from Maharashtra, including eight from Nashik, who are stranded after being lured abroad with fake job offers. Families are now urging the government to rescue them as soon as possible.
During a WhatsApp call, the victim, who had travelled to Thailand after being promised a call centre job in Bangkok with a monthly salary of Rs 70,000, said he was instead taken by unidentified people to a camp near the Thailand-Myanmar border. His captors have reportedly demanded Rs 8 lakh for his release.
“We are made to work for 18 hours every day. We are served food that even rats and cockroaches would not eat,” he told his family.
He also said those who refuse to work are locked inside a room and given electric shocks. According to him, women held in the camp are also facing severe torture. He said the recruits first received a month of training with very little payment before being forced into cyber fraud operations.
Forced into online scams
The victim, who studied up to Class 12 and had earlier worked in the merchant navy, left home on 25th April after a friend offered him the overseas job. Instead of starting work in Bangkok, he was taken across the border into Myanmar.
Another family from Maharashtra said they are equally worried about their son and appealed to the government to rescue not only him but all Indians trapped in such camps.
According to BJP corporator Prashant Dive, who has spoken to some of the victims, including three youths from his ward, those inside the camps are forced to create fake Facebook accounts, build online relationships and convince people to invest in cryptocurrency scams. Around 20 people are kept in a single room, and anyone who fails to meet targets is beaten.
The trapped youths said around 25 people from Maharashtra, including residents of Nashik, Beed and Dharashiv, are being held there. They believe more than 400 Indians are currently stuck in similar cyber scam compounds.
Government steps in for help
With the help of local BJP corporators, affected families have approached Maharashtra Disaster Management Minister Girish Mahajan. The minister has informed Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis about the matter and assured families that efforts are underway. Sources said Mahajan also spoke to some of the trapped youths to reassure them that the government is working for their safe return.
In recent months, criminal networks operating from Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and nearby countries have targeted young Indians through fake job advertisements for IT, data entry, digital marketing and customer support roles. After reaching these countries, victims are taken to cyber fraud centres, their passports are seized, and they are forced to carry out online investment and cryptocurrency scams.
Earlier this year, more than 120 people from Andhra Pradesh were rescued from similar camps in Myanmar, while 79 others were brought back in November and December last year.
