The family members and villagers of the three abducted youth from Kangra by pirates in Nigeria staged a protest over the delay in their release.
“We have not received any call from the kidnappers from past 6 days. We are worried for their lives,” said Raghuvir Dhiman, father of the kidnapped group captain Sushil Kumar. The relatives and villagers of Sushil Kumar hailing from Nagrota Surian have sent a memorandum to the Central government through the Naib-Tehsildar for the early release of the kidnapped men.
“They (pirates) made a call on Wednesday and asked us to send money immediately or else they will shoot them,” added Dhiman. The family members and villagers threatened to hold agitation if the authorities fail to hasten the process of their safe return from the custody of the pirates within two days.
The families had last contacted the three youth serving in Merchant Navy on 31 January, after which on 12 March, the father of one of the abducted men received a satellite call confirming of their abduction.
The kidnappers have demanded ransom money of Rs 20 lakh for their safe release. All the three youth belonging to the Kangra district of the state, Sushil Kumar from Nagrota Surian, Ajay Kumar from Palampur and Pankaj Kumar from Samloti.
“The families are in contact with the Ministry of External Affairs. But they are just giving us hope. We are still not sure whether they are safe or not. The pirates have not contacted anyone from past few days,” said Suknada, Nagrota Surian, Block Samiti’s vice-president Balvir Pathania.