HYDERABAD: One of the many brutal punishments inflicted on Indian jobseekers trafficked to Myanmar by fraudulent IT firms allegedly involved forcing them to eat frozen rotten duck eggs refrigerated for over a week. To make matters worse, those who refused to consume the foul-smelling, putrefied eggs were subjected to electric shocks, a grotesque form of torture used to punish workers who resisted internet scams or failed to meet fraud targets.

In March, the Indian govt rescued 540 citizens who had been lured by deceptive job offers and trafficked to Myanmar. The victims hailed from several states, including Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Rajasthan, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.Among them were 65 Indians who had gone on strike after enduring abuse at one such company. Upon their return to India-landing in Delhi on March 11 and 12-they shared harrowing accounts with CBI, detailing how they were recruited, transported and tortured at Myawaddy region in Myanmar.One of them, Kokkirala Madhukar Reddy, 31, from Rangampeta in Manakondur, in Karimnagar district, said that after landing in Bangkok on Dec 18, 2024, he was trafficked to Myawaddy under the pretence of a lucrative IT job. I quickly realised during the training that we were expected to defraud NRIs in the US by persuading them to invest in non-existent companies,” Madhukar told TOI on Wednesday. “Since I deliberately went slow on my targets, I was punished repeatedly-I ate the dreaded duck egg several times, which was rotten.”The company, operating under tight security with its own “private army”, used several cruel methods to discipline workers. “The egg would be kept frozen for a week before being forced down our throats,” he said. “It would leave a foul taste and wreak havoc in our stomachs-we couldn’t eat for days,” he said.“If anybody refused to eat the eggs, they were given electric shocks,” Madhukar said. Other punishments included holding two 20-litre empty water cans on each palm for 30 minutes, running 5 km, or standing under the scorching sun for hours. Even women weren’t spared. “A woman from Haryana was subjected to even harsher punishments,” he said.The cruelty reached such extremes that 65 Indian workers staged a protest, sitting outside the KK2 building in Myawaddy township overnight. The demonstration drew the attention of the local Myanmar police, who in turn alerted the Indian embassy. Swift action followed, leading to the safe repatriation of the victims.Madhukar chose to share his story to warn others against falling for fake overseas job offers and later landing in trouble. “What happened to us can happen to anyone. People must stay alert and verify before accepting such offers,” he said.