A sense of anxiety gripped the family of Tanguturi Srinivasa Rao (26), who was kidnapped along with two others in Nigeria’s Bayelsa State on November 26. The three were abducted by unidentified gunmen at Emakalakala town in the Ogbia council area, a few miles from their construction base.
Mr. Rao’s parents Seshaiah and Nagamani reside at Chintalapudi village of Duggirala mandal in Tenali revenue division. “We have no information about his whereabouts. We are in touch with Chandrasekhar, a family friend, who stays close to the State where our son works. The company for which our son works is not responding to calls made by Chandrasekhar,” said Mr. Seshaiah. The family learnt about their son’s kidnap after five days when Chandrasekhar sent an email from Nigeria.
The family is tense after media reports stated that Mr. Srinivasa Rao was kidnapped by armed men who fired in the air before leaving in a speedboat. “Political leaders, officials and police are in touch with us. We are told that the State government is working closely with Indian Embassy in Nigeria and are hopeful that our son is released by his abductors,” said Mr. Seshaiah.
As the news spread a steady stream of visitors including IT Minister Palle Raghunath Reddy, Tenali MLA Alapati Rajendra Prasad, Mangalagiri MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy and municipal chairperson of Mangalagiri Ganji Chiranjeevi called on the parents. Tenali DSP Panduranga Vittaleswar also noted down details of the family.
Mr. Srinivasa Rao, who completed his MBA in 2012, left for Nigeria along with a family friend, Chandrasekhar Rao, who had been working there for some years. Mr. Srinivasa Rao came home in October this year and also got engaged to a girl from Guntur. The wedding has been fixed for February 2015.
His parents said Rao used to call them often and had also called home on November 26, the day he was abducted.
