Odisha youth held 'captive' in Cambodia returns home

The family members of Dinabandhu Sahu of Biswanathpur under Rangeilunda block have now heaved a sigh of relief after he returned home after spending days in captivity in Cambodia. Dinabandhu was allegedly held captive after he refused to work for the Company engaged in cyber crime and fraud.

Earlier, Dinabandhu and his family had appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Amit Shah, Dharmendra Pradhan, and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to initiate measures for his safe return.

"I had contacted a local agent and he handed over me an offer letter for a company in Vietnam. However, instead of providing me with a job as a computer operator, they gave me different work. After I refused, they confined me to a room for 10 days at Cambodia," said Dinabandhu while narrating his ordeal.

According to Dinabandhu, he was given training for around 10 to 15 days. "Later I released that the work was to seek investments. After people deposit money, the ID gets blocked. Where I was working, a scam targeting several people in the Philippines and India was going on. Everything used to be done by selecting people on Facebook and sending friend requests and chatting," said Dinabandhu.

Dinabandhu's mother said, "My son had paid Rs 1.50 lakh to an agent and went to work abroad to earn. However, he was engaged in some other work instead of what was promised. He was later held captive and the company demanded money for his release.

Dinabandhu's wife said, "After one month, we learnt that my husband has been detained. We were worried about his safety as we were demanded money to release him."