New Delhi: India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Saturday said the government is making all efforts to free a Salesian priest who was abducted in Yemen early March.
The federal government also confirmed that the Indian priest from Bengaluru, Fr Tom Uzhunnalil, had been taken captive by the Islamic State in Yemen, news agency ANI reported.
“Fr Tom Uzhunnallil — an Indian national from Kerala —was abducted by a terror group in Yemen. We r making all efforts to secure his release, Swaraj tweeted on March 25.
The assurance came amid anxiety among Indian Christians over the priest’s safety after unconfirmed rumors said the Islamic militants had planned to crucify the priest on Good Friday.
There has been no news about the priest even after Good Friday was over.
The rumors also said the priest was being tortured by his abductors.
However, the Salesians’ of Don Bosco have dismissed the reports as rumors.
“These rumors are spread from quite some time. We have request government of India to trace him out and take action,” Fr Mathew Valarkot, another priest of the order, said.
The priest was kidnapped on March 4 after four gunmen attacked a retirement home in Aden, southern Yemen, run by the Missionaries of Charity killing sixteen people, including four nuns.