New Delhi:
A 50-year-old Afghan man of Indian origin – was reportedly abducted at gunpoint last night from the Karte Parwan area of Kabul, according to a tweet by Akali Dal leader Manjinder Sirsa.
Mr Sirsa, who is also President of the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee, said he had spoken to Hindu Sikh families in the Afghan capital, and the family of the abducted Bansuri Lal – a local businessmen, and they had expressed concerns over their safety.
“In Kabul, Bansuri Lal, 50, a Hindu, was abducted last night as he was going to his warehouse. Five men with guns forced him into a car… his brother and others in the community have asked for help, and I am asking the government for help,” Mr Sirsa said in a video statement.
He tagged the Ministry of External Affairs in his tweet.
Ministry sources said they are aware of the report and are investigating.
Apprising @MEAIndia – 50-yr old Bansuri Lal Allende was abducted by 5 people at gun point in Karte Parwan area in Kabul where he has a medicine godown
I had a phone call with representative of Hindu Sikh families in Kabul who told me minorities are worried abt their life & safety pic.twitter.com/f9MTdIsmqg— Manjinder Singh Sirsa (@mssirsa) September 15, 2021
Reports of the abduction surfaced after an earlier tweet by a Puneet Singh Chandhok, whose unverified Twitter handle describes him as “President Indian World Forum”.
The tweet said Bansuri Lal was an Indian citizen in Kabul and had been abducted yesterday morning.
Apart from the Ministry of External Affairs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar were also tagged.
Other media reports have claimed Bansuri Lal has family living in Delhi.
Since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan on August 15, India has evacuated hundreds of its citizens and those from other countries, including Afghans.
Last month there were reports that over 150 Indian citizens had been abducted by the Taliban from outside the gates of Kabul airport, while they were waiting to board evacuation flights.
The government later confirmed they had only been taken to a nearby police station for routine questioning and checking of travel documents before boarding their flight.
All members of that group were eventually flown back to India.
The government has said an unknown number of Indians remain in Kabul and other parts of the war-torn country, and that it is monitoring the situation “very carefully”. At an all-party meet held on August 26, it told 31 opposition parties its priority is the evacuation of all Indians from Afghanistan
Last month, government sources told PTI that over 800 had been flown out on special commercial and Air Force planes amid a fast-deteriorating security situation.
An estimated 15,000 have sought help in fleeing Afghanistan, the government added.
With input from PTI
