LONDON :
The family of a retired London-based NRI school teacher kidnapped in
Assam have mortgaged
their home here and flown to India
in an effort to rescue him from the clutches
of the kidnappers, reports here said.
67-year-old Pratul Deb was
snatched by gunmen posing as soldiers nearly a month ago during a
visit to his home region of Assam
and is believed to have been kidnapped by a
militant group belonging to the Bru National Liberation Front,
fighting for an autonomous state for the Reang people.
But despite pleas from his wife
and daughters, the British and Indian authorities have failed to
help them, the Evening Standard said.
Now the family have mortgaged
their home and taken their life savings to the region to bargain
with the captors.
According to the report, they
have already handed over 10,000 pounds but the gunmen have failed to
release Deb, who suffers from a serious heart
condition.
His youngest daughter,
28-year-old lawyer Deepa Deb told the newspaper: "The longer the
silence, the more we fear the worst. "Nobody will help us, neither
the Indian nor British governments, and the Red Cross say they can't
help so we are left to go it alone."
Ms Deb, who has stayed at home
in London , said: "A
frail old man grabbed at gunpoint has been missing for a month and
there is no trail, no clues as to his whereabouts or proof he is all
right. We just want somebody to find him before it's too late."
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