India-bound duo were seized on way to airport

BENGALURU: The families of Lakshmikanth Ramakrishna, 36, of Raichur and S Vijay Kumar, 56 of Bangarpet near Kolar , were stunned on Friday morning to hear that the two men and two others from Hyderabad had been abducted by masked men of the Islamic State terror group (ISIS) who waylaid their cab around 50km from Sirte near Tripoli, Libya. But by late evening, they were relieved to hear that the two men from Karnataka had been released.
Lakshmikanth and S Vijay Kumar had been heading to Gardabya airport in Libya en route to Bengaluru on July 29. Both were returning home after a year and Lakshmikanth was eager to meet his five-month-old daughter Kruthi. He had come home last August to leave his wife Dr Pratibha. This time, he was shifting base back to Raichur after getting a job in a local college.
Anand Rao, Lakshmikanth’s maternal uncle, told mediapersons, “At first, we could not believe what we heard. Later, we contacted Lakshmikanth’s colleagues on the phone and they confirmed the sad news.”
The cab driver in Libya told Lakshmikanth’s family, “At gunpoint, the terrorists asked their names and religion. Later, they directed the passengers to get down from the vehicle, bundled them inside another jeep which was parked by the roadside and sped away. I drove back to Sitre and found Lakshmikanth’s mobile on the seat. I dialled the last number and contacted the family.”
Lakshmikanth graduated in MSc (IT) and got a doctorate from the Kalaburgi University. After his graduation he served in Yaragara PG Center for several years, before leaving for Libya to teach at the University of Sirte, seven years ago. His wife Pratibha said she stayed in Libya for two years. “After seeing Kruthi”, the bad memories of the abduction will disappear. We’re lucky. We thank everyone who made efforts for the safe release,’’ she added.
Vijay Kumar has been working in the physical education faculty in Sitre University for the past 10 years. His wife Sunita and two sons V Suhas, 20, a diploma student and younger son V Siddhartha, studying in class 8, stay with his parents in Vivekanandanagar in Bangarpet.
Vijay Kumar’s father Srinivasulu said: “All’s well that ends well. We are relieved. But I had always advised him to return. Ten years ago, he worked with a private company in Maldives and then shifted to Sri Lanka before getting a job in Sitre University. The sad news reached my daughter-in-law Sunita on July 29 night but she hesitated to inform me as I suffer from a heart ailment,” he said.
His mother Ratnamma said: “God is great, my son is safe. I always worried when I heard about ISIS attacks. I spoke to him on Wednesday and he said the tickets were confirmed. I told him that his sons are growing and need their father’s attention now. I’ll make sure he never works outside the country. We’re growing older too and need to see him every day.’’
Srinivasalu, a retired police sub-inspector, said Vijaya Kumar was an ex-Army man, who was strong physically and mentally and was sure he would return unharmed. Sunita, Vijayakumar’s wife, got a call from him around 6pm. “My husband called to inform that he is safe and the authorities are arranging his return. The last time we saw my husband was in September 2014.” She and her two children last travelled to Libya about five years ago. “He has been there for about eight years. We stopped going there as our children grew up and needed to focus more on their studies”
Vijayakumar, who did his post-graduation in English, had served the Army for 20 years. He had worked in various capacities, including as principal of military schools in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. He was also part of the Indian Peace-keeping Force in Sri Lanka.