SRINAGAR: A man from Jammu and Kashmir’s Ramban district has reportedly been abducted by terrorists in Niger, West Africa, during a deadly attack on a construction site in the Dosso region.The victim, Ranjeet Singh, was working as a Senior Safety Officer with Transrail Transmission Lighting Limited, an integrated power transmission and distribution company. His wife, Sheela Devi, said the family has had no contact with him since July 15.“I have been trying to reach him since July 15, but there has been no response,” she said. It was only after repeated inquiries that the company informed the family that terrorists had attacked the site and Singh had reportedly fled toward a forested area.“On July 16, my brother-in-law received a phone call saying there had been a terror attack and Ranjeet had run toward the forest. Later that night, company officials confirmed that my husband had been abducted,” she said.According to local media in Niger, unidentified gunmen attacked an Army unit guarding the construction site in the Dosso region, about 130 km from the capital Niamey.“In a heinous terror attack on July 15 in Niger’s Dosso region, two Indian nationals tragically lost their lives and one was abducted,” the Indian Embassy in Niamey said in a post on X.Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday sought the Centre’s intervention for the man’s safe return.”Chief Minister has expressed concern over the abduction of Ranjeet Singh, a resident of Ramban, in Niger. He urges the Hon’ble EAM @DrSJaishankar and @MEAIndia to urgently intervene to secure Ranjeet’s safe and swift return,” Abdullah’s office posted on X.According to Singh’s wife Sheela Devi, the company he worked for has made no visible efforts to help secure his release. “We have three young children and elderly parents who are in shock after hearing about his abduction,” she said, appealing to the Indian government for intervention.She has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ministry of External Affairs, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh to ensure her husband’s safe return.She has also met Ramban Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Alyas Khan, who assured her that the matter would be taken up with the Indian Embassy in Niger and the Ministry of External Affairs.“My humble request is to please bring my husband home safely,” she said.
Source link
