A week after the three Indians were kidnapped in Mali, their families said they still had no information about their whereabouts and were worried about their safety.
The Indian Foreign Ministry said the men worked in a cement plant in Mali and were “forced” by a group of “armed attackers” last Tuesday.
The Mali government has not commented yet, but the kidnapping took place during a day in a group connected with al-Qaeda – Jama'at Nusrat al -Islam Wal Muslimin (JNIM), claiming it had carried out several attacks in African countries.
According to government data, since the 1990s, India-India-Trade relations have been established by countries with about 400 Indians living in the country.
According to Reuters, last week's incident occurred in April when five Indian citizens kidnapped five Indian citizens in Niger in an attack by armed personnel. Their whereabouts have not been updated.
Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso are engaging in rebellions related to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) with the insurgency that began in northern Mali in 2012 and have since spread to neighboring countries.
Mali is the eighth largest country on the African continent and lands in the African Sahel region, a Global Terrorism Index (GTI) that was described earlier this year as the “epicentennium of global terrorism.” The region accounts for more than half of all terrorism-related deaths, GTI said.
The day after the kidnapping, the Indian Foreign Ministry urged citizens living in Mali to “be very cautious, be alert and keep close contact with the Indian Embassy.” [Mali’s capital] Bamako”.
The people were taken away from Diamond Cement Factory, run by Prasaditya Group, an Indian conglomerate in Kaies. To date, the company and the factory have not made any statements. The BBC has contacted them for a response.
On that day, jihadist fighters were kidnapped and launched a series of simultaneous attacks on military outposts in many towns in Mali.
Residents of Kayes, where the cement plant is located, told the BBC that gunfire can be heard “everywhere” during the attack.
The kidnapping has sparked panic among Indian relatives living in Africans.
The Indian government said it was in touch with the Malian authorities, the factories where the men worked, and the relatives of the kidnapped men – but the BBC Telugu spoke with the families of the two men, who said they had little information about their relatives.
Mali's military base was attacked several times last month [AFP via Getty Images]
Panad Venkatramana's mother was one of the kidnapped men who had worked as an engineer in a factory and she spoke to her son for the last time.
“He said he was going to work and would call later,” said Nalsama, who had only one name.
She added: “Three days later, we got a call from the company, but we didn't understand what the caller was talking about. Later, we saw my son being kidnapped on TV.”
Venkatramana is from eastern Odisha and his family filed a complaint with local police officers seeking their help to find him.
They found support from former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who posted on X, urging Foreign Minister Jaishankar to “individually intervene in the matter” and ensure the “early and safe release” of Venkatramana.
In the southern states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, the family of another kidnapped man – Amaralingaeswara Rao, who served as assistant general manager at the factory – is anxiously waiting for him to return home.
His father, Koorakula Venkateswarlu, told BBC Telugu that his son went to Mali eight years ago to support his family.
“salary [in India] Very low. He has three children to raise. ” said Mr Venkateswarlu.
His son plans to visit India in October and booked a flight ticket. But now, he said, they don't know when to see him.
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