Gujarat couple seeking to enter US illegally held captive in Iran by Pak agent: Police
Ahmedabad (PTI): A young couple from Naroda area in Gujarat's Ahmedabad city who planned to enter the US illegally has been held hostage in Iran by a Pakistani agent who has sought money for their release, police said.
A process was on to register an FIR in this connection at Krushnanagar Police Station in Naroda area and the Ahmedabad city crime branch has started an investigation into the matter, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Chaitanya Mandlik said on Monday.
Since the incident has taken place outside the country, the crime branch will approach the Indian Embassy in Iran with all details to secure the release of the couple, identified as Pankaj Patel and his wife Nisha Patel, both aged 29, the official said.
As per details shared with Krushnanagar police by the couple's family, the two wanted to enter the US illegally and came in contact with a Hyderabad-based agent who arranged for their air tickets.
As per the agent's plan, the couple was supposed to land at Tehran in Iran and then proceed further as per instructions, police said. However, after they landed at Tehran airport a few days back, a Pakistani agent took them to a hotel and held them hostage for ransom, officials said.
The Pakistani agent and his accomplices thrashed Pankaj Patel and sent a video to his kin and sought a huge amount of money to release the couple, they added.
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Chadha, others wouldn't have left AAP had it followed 'right' path: Anna Hazare
Mumbai (PTI): Social activist Anna Hazare has said Raghav Chadha and six other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha members would not have quit the party had it followed the "right" path.
"Everyone has the right to hold an opinion in a democracy. They (Chadha and others) must have faced some trouble, which is why they left," Hazare told reporters on Friday in Ahilyanagar district of Maharashtra.
AAP Rajya Sabha members Raghav Chadha and Sandeep Pathak addressed a joint press conference in Delhi on Friday, announcing their exit from the Arvind Kejriwal-led party to join the BJP.
Chadha claimed that nearly two-thirds of AAP's Rajya Sabha members had quit the party and would function as a separate faction.
"It is their (AAP leadership’s) fault. Had that party followed the right way, they would not have left," Hazare said.
Hazare reiterated that Chadha and others must have faced difficulties within AAP, and that is why they left. "Had the party gone in the right direction, they would not have quit the party," he added.
"There must be some or the other reason (for their leaving AAP). In a democracy, every person has a view about where to stay and leave," Hazare said.
The Chadha-led exodus marks a significant setback for the Kejriwal-led party since its formation in 2012, which followed the momentum of Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement.
