(a) whether attention of the Government has been drawn towards media reports of about 150 persons of Indian origin missing from Guatemala;
(b) if so, the details thereof along with the reaction of the Government thereto;
(c) whether majority of those missing persons are from Punjab and Gujarat;
(d) if so, the details thereof; and
(e) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to ascertain the
whereabouts of these missing persons?
THE MINISTER OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRI S. M. KRISHNA)
(a) Yes, Sir.
(b) to (e) Government has come across media reports mentioning recovery of unclaimed Indian passports at Delhi airport in January 2012 and that these passports bore Guatemalan Immigration Authority stamps. Based on the media reports, the Ministry of External Affairs contacted the Embassy of India in Guatemala. The Embassy in turn immediately contacted the concerned authorities in Guatemala. The Guatemalan authorities informed that they are not aware of any such incident. Efforts are on to obtain details of the unclaimed passports to enable Guatemalan authorities to carry out further investigations.