Chandigarh, Jul 30 (IANS): Seventeen Indian men, who were stranded in Libya for the past six months, were released from the jail in Tripoli, Member of Parliament Vikramjit Singh Sahney said on Sunday.

They were cheated by unscrupulous travel agents from Punjab and Delhi on the pretext of sending them to Italy for lucrative jobs.

All of them left India for Italy in February via Dubai then Egypt, and after few days, landed in Libya. They were kept in Zuwara City, where they were being deprived of basic amenities like food and water and subjected to physical assault, said Sahney in a statement here.

He said when he got to know about them in May contacted the Indian Embassy in Tunisia and initiated the legal process for rescuing them. “My office was in constant touch with these boys and their families. Initially our major concern was to take them out from the captivity of local mafia,” said Sahney.

He said they were detained in an under-construction building by an armed group from where the police took their custody. “They were kept at a detention centre in Zwara on June 15 and then we initiated the legal process to get their consular access.”

Sahney said on Saturday the process of getting their consular access got over and Libyan authorities released them from jail and kept them in Tripoli till arrangements for their travel documents were arranged by them.

Sahney said he will be sponsoring all legal expenses and flight tickets of the youth coming back to their home. On reaching India, Sahney’s office will offer them free of cost skilling and provide them job opportunities.