Ahmedabad: A man from Gujarat was abducted and murdered in Ecuador in South America for ransom. The man's body was fished out from river a few days later.
The deceased, named Hiren Gajera (41) hailed from Memnagar area of Ahmedabad and resided in Ecuador. On June 3, he was abducted by a few suspected Colombian terrorists while he was returning from his friend's birthday party in Palma town. The kidnappers demanded one lakh US dollars or 70 kg of drugs from Hiren's family. After several rounds of negotiations, the kidnappers agreed to release Hiren if the family handed them 20,000 US dollars.
Also, the kidnappers set a condition that Hiren's wife would have to come alone with the money. The family agreed to the condition. But, after this the family could not contact the kidnappers despite several attempts. A few days later, Hiren's body was found in the river.
"My son has been living with his family in South America for several years. The accused abducted him and killed him. The police have not taken any action against the accused till now. None of them have been arrested so far. We also tried to bring my son's body to India through the Government of India. But, we did not receive any response. So, his last rites were performed in Ecuador. We want our son's killers behind the bar," said Dr. M.K. Gajera, Hiren's father.
Hiren was involved in the business of teak wood export. He went to South America in 2006 and resided in Palma town till 2014. Then in 2014, he returned to Ahmedabad and stayed here for eight years. In March 2022, he again shifted to Ecuador with his family and since then they have been living there, Hiren's relatives said.
