Indian couple abducted in Azerbaijan on way to US rescued with MEA's help: Anand MP

Ministry of External Affairs at South Block (PTI/File image)

• Gujarat couple kidnapped in Azerbaijan while en route to US via illegal agents
• Indian MEA intervened, rescuing the couple within 24 hours
• MP urges youth not to use illegal agents for overseas travel

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A couple from Gujarat's Anand district on their way to the US was kidnapped and held hostage in Azerbaijan with abductors demanding ransom for their release, but the pair was rescued with help from the Indian foreign ministry, local Lok Sabha MP said on Tuesday.

The couple, Dhruv Patel and his wife Dipika, was released and was safe, thanks to timely efforts made by 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.

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 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 that don't 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 government's efforts in rescuing the couple.