Some of the victims’ families of Kaaj educational center bombing in the west of Kabul report to Kabul Now that the scammers on the pretext of taking the injured abroad intended to extort money from these families.
At least three families report that the scammers have approached them.
In the video clips Kabul Now received, the mother of Siyahmoy, one of the injured, says that a woman told her that it is not possible for her injured daughter to receive treatment in the emergency hospital in Kabul and, hence, there is a need to take her to India for treatment. The scammer promised to offer this so-called assistance to this family.
The woman scammer herself promised to get a passport for Siyahmoy but the scammer asked the family to pay an amount of 10,000 Afghanis to take a passport for Siyahmoy’s father, says this mother.
Siyahmoy’s mother says that they [family] received 5,000 Afghanis aid from the emergency hospital, borrowed another 5,000 Afghanis, and handed over 10,000 Afghanis to the scammer. According to this mother, the scammer no longer answers her mobile phone now.
The father of another wounded girl says that some told his daughter’s friends that they would get the victims’ families registered at the United Nations and charge 40 dollars for the transfer of each family member. According to him, these people were all scammers.
One of the wounded girls also says that the scammer has contacted her family but the scammer has not succeeded in scamming the family. This girl adds, “I was happy when [a man] came and said that he has a plan for the wounded and that he would provide them with passports and help them move out of the country. Then, I asked which agency he represents, he refused to introduce himself.”
According to her, this man left their house when he could not introduce himself.
This girl says that such a man has approached one of her other classmates as well.
Some other sources also say that a number of families have been scammed. The number of these families is not known yet.
Late in September, a suicide bombing targeted a classroom of over 700 students at the Kaaj educational center. It killed nearly 60 teenage students, mostly girls, and wounded more than 120 others. The victims are all Hazaras – a predominantly Shiite ethnic group in Afghanistan.