Hostages were made to stand against the windows of the cafe by the gunman (Associated Press photo)
An employee of Indian IT major Infosys is among those being held hostage at a popular cafe in Sydney, Australia since early this morning, the company said in a statement today.
"We can confirm that one Infosys employee is among the hostages at the Lindt Cafe in Sydney. We are also in the process of confirming the whereabouts of all our other employees in the city. We are in constant touch with the local authorities and Indian Consulate in Sydney for updates on the situation on ground," Infosys said in the statement, adding that the family of the employee had been informed.
An armed man has held several people hostage at the Lindt Chocolate cafe in Martin Place, a major shopping and pedestrian thoroughfare near the Sydney Opera House in the central business district of the city, since 9.45 am local time.
The Indian government has said there is no confirmation on whether any Indian is among the hostages. "Nothing has been confirmed so far on whether anybody from India is among the hostages. It is a sensitive issue and I urge all of you to exercise restraint," said parliamentary affairs minister Venkaiah Naidu.
He said the Ministry of External Affairs or MEA was in touch with the Indian High Commissioner in Australia. "Our initial information is that no harm has been done to hostages," Mr Naidu said.
The Indian consulate, about 400 metres from the cafe, was evacuated and closed. MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said, "We have standard procedures to deal such incidences. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has been in touch with the High Commissioner who in turn is in touch with Indian authorities. We have evacuated the staff from the counsel building but the Deputy Counsel General is available."
The external affairs ministry has said Indians can contact the High Commission at +61 419687008.