Kozhikode: Seven of the eight job seekers forced to work for an online scam racket in Cambodia reached Kerala on Sunday night. Kalamassery police recorded their statements, and the youths left for their homes on Monday night.

The victims of 'digital slavery' are Abhinav Suresh, Aswanth Babu, Arun S A, Abhinand C P and Semil Dev of Maniyur in Vatakara, Ajmal of Malappuram and Roshan Antony of Ernakulam. Another youth from Perambra is still in Cambodia. However, he stated in a recent video that he was safe there.

Onmanorama spoke to Abhinav Suresh, who narrated the group's harrowing experience while in Cambodia. "We were lured with the promise of employment at a Thailand-based advertising company. On October 4, we set off for Thailand through Anurag, a native of Cherandathoor. The swindlers collected Rs 1.5 lakh from each of us. However, the scamsters diverted us to a cyber-fraud centre in Cambodia instead of Thailand. Only after reaching Cambodia did we find out the 'job' was a racket that runs online scams. We had to contact unassuming users and lay online traps to swindle their money,” said Abhinav.

The group was asked to do an internship before starting 'work'. “When we told them we didn't want to work there, the agency detained and tortured us physically. We were rarely given anything to eat. One of us got a fracture and even required surgery. Individuals posing as company representatives threatened to kill us if we tried contacting anyone back home and snatched our phones. The torture stopped only after we agreed to work in another office of the firm. Once we were allowed to leave the office, that was our only chance to escape,” said Abhinav.

Ultimately, the victims managed to escape with the assistance of a taxi driver and sought refuge at the Indian Embassy, leading to their safe return. The Ministry for External Affairs, State Government and NORKA roots intervened. Vatakara MLA K K Rema and Kuttiadi MLA K P Kunhammed Kutty contacted the state government seeking urgent resolution.