Indian abducted by terrorists in Niger hails from J&K's Ramban district; wife pleads for his release

Jammu: The Indian national allegedly abducted by terrorists in the West African country Niger is a resident of Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban district, said his wife on Saturday, requesting the Central government's intervention for his safe release.

Sheela Devi said that her husband Ranjeet Singh was working as a senior safety officer at Transrail Lighting Limited, an integrated power transmission and distribution company. She said the family lost contact with him on July 15.

According to the Indian embassy, two Indians were killed and one abducted following a terrorist attack in southwest Niger.

"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 embassy said in a social media post on Friday.

Niger media had reported that unidentified gunmen attacked an Army unit guarding a construction site in Dosso, about 130 kilometres from capital Niamey.

Sheela Devi said on Saturday, "We talked on WhatsApp on July 15 and since then, I have not been able to contact him. I called his management and was initially told that there is no network at the work site." She said she learned about her husband's abduction the next day through his friend, even as the management maintained that he had fled deep into the forest following the terror attack.

"It has been four days since then. I believe that there is no effort to secure my husband's release from his captors," a visibly upset Devi, a mother of three children, said.

She alleged that her repeated attempts to reach out to the company were being met with cold response.

"I do not know what kind of situation my husband is in. I do not have any idea about the efforts of the local government," Devi said, making a fervent appeal to the Government of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs minister S Jaishankar to seek Ranjeet Singh's release.

Devi said she met Ramban Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Alyas Khan, who gave her a positive response.

"The deputy commissioner said he will do everything in his capacity, but I know the main work is that of our external affairs ministry. If they want, my husband will come home safely," she said.