KTR meets men he helped out of Dubai prison

BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Wednesday met Sivaratri Mallesham and his brother Sivaratri Ravi, who were released after 18 years of imprisonment in a Dubai prison after the intervention of the former Minister.

Rajanna-Sircilla: BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Wednesday met Sivaratri Mallesham and his brother Sivaratri Ravi, who were released after 18 years of imprisonment in a Dubai prison after the intervention of the former Minister.

Rama Rao along with other party workers visited the residence of the brothers in Peddur village and enquired about their wellbeing. Interacting with them and their family members, Rama Rao explained the problems being faced by migrant labourers in Gulf countries.

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The brothers expressed their gratitude to the former Minister, stating that they were released from the jail only because of the efforts put in by him. A total of five labourers – Mallesham, Ravi, Sivaratri Hanumanthu, Dandugula Laxman and Venkatesh – from Rajanna-Sircilla and Jagtial districts were arrested 18 years ago in connection with the murder of a Nepali person and imprisoned in Dubai. Out of the five, Mallesham, Ravi, Hanumathu and Laxman were released from the jail with the initiative of Rama Rao, while Venkatesh is expected to be released soon.

Later, speaking to reporters, Rama Rao said lakhs of people from the State had migrated to the Gulf in the search of employment during the last three to four decades, leaving their family members here. Without knowing the language and facing other problems, they were facing severe hardships there.

Languishing in Dubai jail for the last 18 years by the five labourers was a classic example of how migrant labourers were facing troubles in Gulf countries. When the issue came to his notice, he had gone to Kathmandu, Nepal, and paid Rs.15 lakh as blood money to the family members of the victim. However, they could not be released due to changes in the laws in Dubai. Fortunately, they were released now.

Expressing happiness, he assured to fulfill his promise of extending his support and said he would come with a self employment plan within two months to provide employment to the five. At the same time, the State government should also keep its promise to protect the interests of Gulf victims, he said.

Besides growth in agriculture, employment opportunities had also improved in Telangana during the last 10 years. It was meaningless to migrate to the Gulf in search of employment when many people from other States were migrating to Telangana for the purpose of employment, he said.