Taliban abduct 6 Indians from Afghan project site

Taliban mistook them for govt staff; MEA is in touch with Kabul

New Delhi/ Kabul, May 6: Six Indians working in a power company in Afghanistan’s northern Baghlan province were allegedly abducted on Sunday by Taliban gunmen who apparently mistook them for government employees, Afghan media reports said.

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

The Taliban militants abducted the six Indian staff members and one Afghan employee of Indian company KEC, a part of RPG Enterprises, early Sunday morning in the Bagh- e- Shamal area of the provincial capital P u l - e - K h o m r e , TOLOnews reported, citing officials. The employees were abducted while they were travelling to the area where the company owns an electricity sub- station contract, the report said.

Baghlan governor Abdulhai Nemati said the Taliban group abducted the employees

and moved them to the Dand- e- Shahabuddin area of Pul- e- Khumri city, the report said. It quoted Mr Nemati as saying the Afghan authorities spoke with the Taliban via local people and the terror group said it had abducted the staff members in error, believing they were government employees.

No group has, however, claimed responsibility for the abduction so far.

Mr Nemati said they were trying to release the abductees through tribe elders and mediation.

In response to queries on the report of the abduction, the MEA spokesman said: “We are aware of the abduction of Indian nationals from Baghlan province in Afghanistan. We are in contact with the Afghan authorities and further details are being ascertained.”

KEC, a global infrastructure engineering, procurement and construction major, is one of the largest Indian companies in Afghanistan and responsible for electricity supply in the country.

The chairman of RPG Enterprises, Mr Harsh Goenka, on Sunday urged external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj to help rescue them. “R e q u e s t @ S u s h m a Swaraj and ministry of external affairs to help rescue 7 of our managers from the kidnapping in Afghanistan.# KEC,” Mr Goenka tweeted.