Ahmedabad : The Gujarat couple, who were held captive by a Pakistani agent in Iran, has been released after the Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghvi made hectic efforts along with the Crime Branch, Union Ministry of External Affairs, RAW, IB and Interpol. The couple, Pankaj Patel and Nisha Patel, hailing from Nava Naroda tried to reach America illegally but were trapped by the agent in Iran.
The abduction of the couple became known after the agent sent a video of them in captivity to their relatives and demanded money for their release. After coming to know about this, Minister Harsh Sanghvi informed the Home Minister through WhatsApp, then contacted various agencies in the country and got the couple released within 24 hours.
The incident happened when the Home Minister was busy taking stock of the preparations for the Rath Yatra. Preparations were on for programs including Surat's Yoga Day. However, from Sunday night till late Monday night, the Minister continued to make updates on the case. The Home Minister roped in the Ahmedabad Crime Branch. The continuous investigation was done by a high-level dedicated team. He also personally contacted the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, Central IB, RAW&W, and Interpol.
John Mai, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Indian Embassy in Tehran, was also contacted seeking help in locating the Gujarati couple. "Our family expresses deep gratitude to Minister Harsh Shanghvi, officials of Ahmedabad Crime Branch, who helped us on foreign soil in just 24 hours. What happened to us should not happen to anyone," said complainant Sanket Patel.
As per sources, the couple decided to go to America illegally by spending Rs 1.15 cr through an agent in Sargaasan, Gandhinagar. Not even a single rupee advance has been given to the agent. The couple was first taken to Hyderabad. From there another agent was supposed to send them to America via Dubai, Iran. However, they were abducted in Iran.
