Jerusalem: Thirty three of the 39 Indians, who had suddenly 'disappeared'' in October while visiting Israel on an invitation from an irrigation firm, have been caught by immigration police and sent back to India, according to official sources.

While six still remain 'missing', these 33 persons, all of them from Andhra Pradesh, were caught and detained over a period of time from various cities in Israel during last one and half month before they were sent to India, sources said.

The Indians, most of them from Nizamabad district in Andhra Pradesh, had come to Israel in October on a 10-day visa as guests of the Netaffim Irrigation Equipment and Drip Systems Company.

Thirty nine members of the group, who had also participated in professional training workshops on irrigation sponsored by Netafim, were found 'missing' from their hotel in the Northern coastal city of Netanya, hours before they were supposed to leave for India in the last week of October.

Indian embassy officials said they had been officially notified by Israeli authorities about the ''disappearance'' of Indians and later granted consular access to the detainees.

Israeli TV channels, Israel Radio and various Hebrew newspapers had reported the incident in detail.

All 39 are believed to have paid heavy sums of money to agents in Andhra Pradesh who managed their visas to Israel.

Once they were caught in Israel, their family members lodged complaints in Andhra Pradesh against the agents who had duped them.

A senior Foreign Ministry official said the issue would not have any bearing on Israel's policy towards issuing visas to Indians. Netafim, which has offices in India, has collaboration with Indian companies and its projects are underway in many states, particularly in Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

Israeli embassy in New Delhi had last year denied visas to 20 Indian businessmen seeking to attend a commercial exhibition in Tel Aviv.

PTI