Seven Indians working for power company abducted in Afghanistan

New Delhi: Seven Indians working for a power company were allegedly kidnapped by Taliban in Afghanistan’s northern Baghlan province on Sunday, said media reports.

The foreign ministry in New Delhi said it was in touch with Afghan authorities and was ascertaining details of the incident.

Television reports said local police officials had been told by the Taliban that the Indians were being held by the group. However, Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid was quoted in Times of India saying that, “So far, we don’t have any update about the abduction issue.”

The abducted Indians are employees of Indian power company KEC International Limited is a part of the RPG group and they went missing from Bagh-e-Shamal area of the provincial capital Pul-e-Khomre, local news reported. The RPG group has requested the foreign ministry to rescue the abducted workers.

The Indians were abducted while they were travelling to the area where the company owns an electricity sub-station contract.

According to reports, Baghlan governor Abdulhai Nemati said a Taliban group abducted the employees and moved them to the Dand-e-Shahabuddin area of Pul-e-Khumri city.

Nemati was quoted as saying that Afghan authorities spoke with Taliban via local people and the terror group said it had mistakenly abducted the staff members believing that they were government employees.

No group, however, has claimed responsibility for the abduction. Nemati said they were trying to get those abducted released through tribal elders and mediation.