New Delhi:
32-year-old techie Irfan Jafferi, who was kidnapped three months ago by gunmen at Darfur in Sudan, has been released and is currently with Sudanese authorities.
"@sldesh Confirm that Irfan Jafferi was released & is with Sudanese authorities. Will be in Khartoum tomorrow. R Mission in touch with all (sic)," tweeted Syed Akbaruddin, official spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs.
On Thursday, the Mr Jafferi's family had offered to pay full ransom. "We are ready to pay the ransom demanded by the kidnappers. For me, my husband is everything. The no-ransom policies of the United Nations and Indian government are killing us...my husband is in deep trouble. We are feeling abandoned in this crisis. Why there is no one to help us?" a tearful Nafisa Jafferi (30), wife of Irfan had told PTI.
On March 11, a group of five armed gunmen allegedly abducted Irfan from outside a Turkish restaurant. Since then he was kept hostage in a tribal area of Darfur.
Recalling the incident, Irfan's uncle Shakeel Ahmed said, "We had received a phone call on March 12 afternoon from the IT company stating that Irfan was kidnapped, the news which shattered our entire family."
"I beg External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to feel our pain and anguish and help me get back my husband," pleaded Nafisa in a choked voice, holding her 7-year-old son's hand.
Nafisa stays in Dombivali in neighbouring Thane district. Her husband Irfan, employed as IT engineer by Trigyn Technologies Ltd for the past five years, used to visit home twice a year.
The multi-national IT firm provides services of information and communications technology-related work at United Nations missions across the globe, so the UN was involved in negotiations with the abductors. The UN has a policy of not paying ransom.