By IANS,
Bangalore : Sweets were distributed and prayers offered Sunday at the house of Sarang Mohammed Nayeem in Mangalore as the news of his release, after nearly a month in captivity in Afghanistan, reached his hometown.
Nayeem’s parents, Sarang Mohammed Hussain and Chand Sultana, received a call early Sunday morning from Sunil Shetty, a director of the company with which Nayeem was employed, informing them of their son’s release.
“We expect him to be back in the next two or three days,” Hussain told reporters at his house, even as family members handed out sweets to relatives and neighbours, who came calling as the news spread.
Nayeem’s mother said he had called Sunday morning and told them that he was safe and there was nothing to worry.
“He said that he should be in Mangalore in the next two or three days,” she said.
“Nayeem’s wife and three children are in Mumbai, her hometown. He called Mumbai and informed them of his release,” Hussain said.
Earlier, the Indian embassy in Kabul told IANS over phone that Nayeem and a Nepali worker, who were abducted from Afghanistan’s Herat province April 22, have been released.
The two were freed Saturday evening, the embassy said. Nayeem, who was kidnapped from Adraskan in Herat, worked as an engineer with Dubai-based HEB International Logistics.
While no group has claimed responsibility for his abduction, it is believed to be the work of one of the numerous terror gangs operating in the country.
The external affairs ministry confirmed his release, but did not give any details about his captors.