Hyderabad: The kidnapping of four Indians —— two each from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh — in Libya by suspected Daesh militants has left their near and dear ones in deep shock.
One victim has been identified as Balram from Tekkali in Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh. The other two — Lakshmikant and Vijay Kumar — are from the neighbouring state of Karnataka.
Officials said they were kidnapped when they were returning from Tripoli to India. All four were working as assistant professors in a university near Tripoli.
The shocked family members of the fourth victim, Tiruveedula Gopkrishna, in Hyderabad’s Nacharam area appealed to the central government to take immediate steps to secure his release. “I had spoken to him on Wednesday and he told us that he was returning home via Tunis,” said Kalyani, his wife. ”But after that we have not received any call from him. When we were waiting for his arrival home, yesterday we received the information about the kidnapping”, she said.
According to the family, Gopikrishna was travelling by bus when the gunmen whisked him and three others away.
Officials of Indian External affairs in New Delhi confirmed that the four Indians were abducted at gunpoint at a checkpoint 50km away from Tripoli two days ago.
A large number of worried relatives and neighbours had gathered to offer immediate family members support. Some of them had contacted the authorities of Libyan University at Sirte and were told that efforts were being made to secure the victims’ release and results were expected in a couple of days.
In Tekkali, Balram’s old parents were worried and anxious to know about the safety of their son. They weren’t sure who — Daesh or another organisation — had their son.
Gopikrishna and Balram had been working in the Libyan university as assistant professors since 2007. Both were on their way home for a weeklong holiday.
Meanwhile, a member of Parliament from Andhra Pradesh, K Rammohan Rao, on Friday wrote a letter to the minister of external affairs, Sushma Swaraj, seeking her intervention for the release of the abducted people. Rao urged the central government to take all possible measures to get them released.
