: “All through the 18 days of captivity we were aware that we had been abducted for ransom, but there was an underlying fear that we may not be released,” Mangipudi Sai Srinivas said, adding that he and his colleague had a prayer on their lips asking God to be kind to them.
The civil engineer from the city, who was kidnapped by unidentified persons in Nigeria, returned home on Sunday. A visibly relieved Srinivas appeared tired due to the jet lag and the long days in captivity surviving on bread and water.
Recounting the harrowing experience with The Hindu on Sunday night, Mr. Srinivas said: “Around 7.50 a.m. on June 29. I and my colleague Anish Sharma were going in our company car. Our car was stopped by two gun-toting men at a busy junction. Our driver was asked to lie on the ground and we were both dragged to the abductors’ car.Their driver also had a gun.”
“They blindfolded us and tied our hands and the car sped away. After a four-and-a-half hour drive, we were taken into a forest area. During the nights, we were kept in cattle sheds blindfolded and our hands tied. We realised that they had kidnapped us only for ransom. We persuaded them not to tie our hands and promised not to run away and they agreed.”
Mr. Srinivas said: “They were not cruel to us but we had to live on bread and water alone. We learnt that the HR Director of our company, the Indian Embassy officials, Indian Ministers, the Indian media were negotiating with our abductors for our safe release. But, I had a lurking fear that it may not happen.”
“I have been working for Dangote Cement Plant in Gboko for three years. I had heard that in the past an employee had been kidnapped by some group but did not pay much attention to it. The plant is owned by one of the richest men of Africa and there are some 6,000 Indians working in it. I was supposed to have come on a holiday in June but postponed the visit to August as the project was coming to an end.”
“After my release from abduction I underwent a medical check-up at Lagos. I flew to Addis Ababa and had to stay there for a night before boarding a flight to Mumbai. My wife Sri Lalita received me in Mumbai. The Air India flight from Mumbai, which was scheduled to leave at 10 a.m. was delayed by about one-and-a-half hour due to a technical problem. I finally reached Vizag at 2.40 p.m.
