Family members of four men, stranded in Belarus for almost two months, submitted petitions at the Collectorate in Kanniyakumari on Monday, seeking their rescue
The four men had travelled to the European country for employment through a recruitment agency.
According to a petition submitted by Anitha of Vizhunthayambalam, her husband T. Thangaswamy travelled to Belarus in December 2025, after being assured of a job through a private agency based in Coimbatore. “The recruitment agency was paid ₹4 lakh in instalments,” it said.
But nearly two months had passed since her husband reached Belarus and he was not provided with any job, proper accommodation and food, the petition further said and appealed to the authorities to take immediate steps to rescue him and recover the money paid to the agency.
When The Hindu contacted Mr. Thangaswamy, he said the agency had initially promised to secure a job in Israel. However, after receiving the money, the agency stopped responding. “Even after following up with them for around a year, they eventually sent us for labour work in Belarus.”
He added that he and three others from Kanniyakumari district and five from other districts of Tamil Nadu, , all recruited through the same agency, were stranded in Belarus.
They were identified as M. Vibin Raj, 41, from Verkilambi, J. Paul Nadar, 52, from Tholichal and P. Jose, 44, from Punkarai, all from Kanniyakumari district. Along with them, P. Marimuthu, 40, from Villupuram district, N. Perumal, 37, and Eswaran, 47, from Virudhunagar district, S. Arul from Tirupattur district and R. Ramesh, 42, from Erode district were also stranded.
Mr. Thangaswamy said the agency was not responding properly to their queries and all nine of them were suffering hardships in the unknown country amid severe snowfall.
He requested the government to initiate action and rescue them from Belarus.
Published – February 02, 2026 09:05 pm IST
