External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj, on Thursday announced that two Indian teachers, one each from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, who had been abducted by the ISIS in Libya more than a year ago, had been rescued.
“I am happy to inform that T Gopalakrishna (AP) & C Balaram Kishan (Telangana) who were captive in Libya since 29 July 2015 have been rescued,” Swaraj tweeted.
I am happy to inform that T Gopalakrishna (AP) & C BalaramKishan (Telangana) who were captive in Libya since 29 July 2015 have been rescued.
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) September 15, 2016
C Balaram Kishan (52) and T Gopalakrishna (40) were kidnapped by ISIS militants when they were going to an airport in Tunisia to board a flight back to India in the last week of July 2015. Balaram is an English lecturer while Gopalakrishna handles computer education in colleges affiliated to the University of Sirte.
Both their families are evidently happy to hear the good news and are waiting for the two men to be taken to the Indian embassy at Tripoli, the capital of Libya.
"I got the news sometime near midnight from my husband's friends in Libya over WhatsApp/ Facebook. Then, my husband called.. my son and I spoke to him. The conversation lasted for a few seconds. He said that he cared for us and we said the same. We can't wait till he comes home now," Sridevi, wife of Balaram told The News Minute.
Muralikrishna, brother of Gopalakrishna, said, "I spoke to him. We could not be sure when we saw photos on Facebook. We were extremely happy when we spoke over the phone. Everybody in the family is relieved."
The families say that the two men were rescued by American forces helping in rescue operations in ISIS hit areas and that they are currently at the military base. They will be taken to the Indian embassy next.
The Telangana government, on August 1, had issued a statement expressing optimism regarding the rescue of the two teachers after two others from Karnataka who also taught at the University of Sirte, Libya, were rescued.
It also stated that the state government was aware of the developments and was in constant touch with the centre.