Seven Indians working with Maharashtra based Indian power company KEC International were abducted by suspected Taliban gunmen in northern Baghlan province of Afghanistan on Sunday.
While no group has claimed responsibility so far, TOLOnews, a local news channel in Afghanistan, quoted Baghlan Governor Abdulhai Nemati as saying that a Taliban group was behind the abduction.
Nemati was quoted as saying that Afghan authorities had spoken with the Taliban group, via local people, and had been told that the KEC employees had been mistaken for government staff.
Ministry of External Affairs’ official spokesperson Raveesh Kumar 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.”
Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani has reportedly spoken to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and briefed her on the efforts being made to rescue the Indians.
Harsh Goenka, chairman of RPG Enterprises, the parent company of KEC, has made a request to Sushma Swaraj, Minister of external affairs on twitter to help rescue 7 of their staff.
According to local reports, the KEC employees were abducted by armed men in Bagh-e-Shamal village of the provincial capital Pul-e-Khomri, while they were travelling to the area where KEC has a contract to operate an electricity sub-station. Nemati told TOLOnews that the Taliban group had moved the KEC employees to Dand-e-Shahabuddin area of Pul-e-Khomri city.
This is the third case of abduction of Indians in Afghanistan in the last four years.
KEC, global infrastructure engineering, procurement and construction major, is one of the largest Indian companies in Afghanistan that is responsible for electricity supply in the country.
In 2013, KEC inked a contract with the Afghanistan government for construction of 220 kV D/C transmission line from the existing 220 kV substation at Chimtala to the newly proposed 220 kV substation at Kabul South West (Arghandi).
