Gujarat couple heading to US kidnapped in Azerbaijan; rescued with MEA’s help: Anand MP
Anand (PTI): A couple from Gujarat’s Anand district was kidnapped and held hostage for ransom in Azerbaijan while en route to the US, and was later rescued with the help of the Indian foreign ministry, the local Lok Sabha MP has said.
Dhruv Patel and his wife Dipika have been released and are safe, thanks to the timely efforts of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Member of Parliament from Anand Mitesh Patel said in a video statement.
“Two days ago, parents of Dhruv Patel and Dipika Patel contacted me and told me that they were kidnapped in Azerbaijan. They said they (family members) received a video call in which people (kidnappers) from Azerbaijan demanded ransom for their release," the BJP MP said on Tuesday.
The duo was kidnapped while on their way to the US with the help of agents who had promised them safe passage to America through illegal means, he informed.
When the couple’s worried family members contacted Mitesh Patel’s office for help, he made a high-level representation to the MEA and met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday when he was in New Delhi for the ongoing Parliament session.
The MEA contacted the Indian Embassy in Azerbaijan and within 24 hours, both the kidnapped persons were rescued and brought to the Embassy in Baku, the capital of the country in the South Caucasus region, Mitesh Patel said.
“The kidnappers had threatened to kill the couple if they were not paid ransom. Our government worked very hard to bring them alive. I would like to appeal to the youth of Anand not to try to go abroad through such agents. Rather, work here. You will get the best opportunities here (in Gujarat),” the Lok Sabha MP said.
He thanked the MEA and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the government’s efforts in rescuing the couple.
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Congress’ downfall will start from Baramati if it doesn’t let Sunetra Pawar win unopposed: Bawankule
Nagpur (PTI): The Congress will have to face consequences if it doesn't allow NCP president and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar to win the Baramati assembly bypoll unopposed, said minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Thursday.
The party’s “downfall” will start from Baramati, he said, stressing that the people of Baramati and Maharashtra wish that she is elected unopposed, said the BJP leader.
The April 23 bye election was necessitated after the tragic death of deputy CM Ajit Pawar, who headed the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), in a plane crash in Baramati on January 28. After his death, his wife Sunetra became the party president.
The NCP, BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena are partners in the ruling Mahayuti alliance in the state.
“The Congress will face consequences if it doesn’t let Sunetra win unopposed from Baramati. Its downfall will start from Baramati if it doesn’t withdraw its candidate,” Bawankule told reporters in Nagpur.
Amid efforts to ensure an unopposed contest, the Congress has fielded advocate Akash More for the bypoll.
The party had said that it would withdraw from the contest only if an FIR were registered in Ajit Pawar’s death in the Baramati plane crash.
Replying to another question, Bawankule said the BJP’s performance will be more robust in Assam and Kerala elections compared to the last assembly polls in these states. Assembly polls are being held in a single phase in Assam, Kerala and Puducherry on Thursday.
“These elections will once again show Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership commanding support among the people,” he said.
