Abducted professor's family members seek Centre's intervention

The family members of a teacher, who has been kidnapped in Libya, allegedly by Islamic State (IS) terror group, today sought Centre's urgent intervention to secure his release.

The brother of Gopikrishna, a faculty member at the University of Sirte and among the four kidnapped Indians, said the his family got the information that he has been abducted in Libya.

"We got the information that Gopikrishna has been kidnapped in Libya. We don't know about his whereabouts," his brother Muralikrishna said here. "We request the Indian government to urgently intervene and help to secure his release," he said.

Gopikrishna, 39, has been working as an assistant professor at University of Sirte since 2007, he said. "He (Gopikrishna) told me on July 29 that he would fly from Tripoli to Tunisia, after which he would fly to India. However, it seems he had a visa problem due to which he chose to go to Tunisia by road. Last night I received news of his abduction," Gopikrishna's wife Kalyani said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Malkajgiri Zone) Rama Rajeswari R said, "Last evening, Gopikrishna's family members approached the local police and informed that he had gone missing. Today morning they told police that they have received information that Gopikrishna had been abducted".

"We have asked them to get in touch with embassy officials in Begumpet here. We are collecting details from family members," the DCP told PTI, adding that a police team has also been deployed at their residence here.