Episode 1: 39 Indians, ISIS and Harjit Masih’s Great Escape

40 Indians were abducted by ISIS from Mosul, Iraq in June 2014. Only one returned to India – Harjit Masih. (Photo: The Quint)

40 Indians were abducted by ISIS from Mosul, Iraq in June 2014. Over a month later, only one returned to India – Harjit Masih – bringing with him a horrific story. He said that while he survived, his 39 fellow captives were killed. But, this isn’t what the Indian government or the families of the other 39 believe. They call Masih a liar and insist that the others are alive, and still held hostage by the ISIS.

On 30 March 2016, reports emerged of Harjit Masih’s arrest by the Punjab Police for a case lodged against him under the Immigration Act and forgery. He has been accused of involvement in an alleged immigration racket.

In Kala Afghana, a village in the Gurdaspur district of Punjab, The Quint met with Masih and his family to find out more about the 25-year-old’s harrowing tale of escape from Iraq. We also met with 3 of the other 39 families whose sons were abducted.

Watch Masih’s stunning reconstruction of the dramatic events that led to his escape, and the hope of the other families that their sons will return to India.

(Cameraperson: Siddharth Safaya, Video Editor: Nitin Sharma)

Watch the full video here:

(This video was first published on 2 April 2016. It is being reposted from The Quint’s archives in light of the fact that Iraqi forces have retaken Mosul from the ISIS, three years after the country’s second-largest city fell into the clutches of the terror outfit in 2014.)