News of the abduction of Dr Kosanam Ramamurthy, along with another Indian from Odisha, was revealed to the world on Wednesday, Sept 16, at 5.52 pm. It wasn’t until Friday morning that his family in Eluru was told about it officially by a government authority.
Like everyone else in the country, his wife Bhavani, son Pavan, daughters Nirisha and Sirisha, learnt of the abduction from TV.
“For the last two days we have been waiting for a call from the local collector, police, Andhra Pradesh Bhavan or any other official or public representative. But there was no response and nobody inquired about us,” Ms. Bhavani said.
On Thursday, Vinayaka Chaviti, while the rest of the country celebrated, the family rushed to their elected reps, Eluru MLA Badeti Kota Ramarao and MP Maganti Venkateswara Rao, for help. “We have no information on who kidnapped him or why. We got no assurances from the government,”” said Ms Bhavani.
Dr. Rammurthy, employed in a hospital in Sirte in Libya, was reportedly kidnapped by an anti-government militia along with five others. The other Indian in the group, Pravas Samal, managed to escape on Thursday.
On Friday, the family received an assurance from their MP that an interview with Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu will be arranged on Saturday. “We hope he will help us by conveying our urgency to the Central Government,” said the doctor’s son, Pavan.
The family is also trying to meet External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in Delhi on September 21.
A native of Kappaladoddi village in Krishna district, Dr. Ramamurthy migrated to West Godavari some 20 years ago. He visited his family in May last year. He last spoke to his wife from Sirte 10 days ago. In the doctor’s native village in Krishna district, his ailing parents were a picture of worry. His brother Omkaram Kosanam told The Hindu, “My brother was preparing to return to India permanently as his service contract with the Libyan government expired recently. He told us in August that he would be in India before December.”
Dr. Rammurthy has been trying to return to India for the last six years as war raged in Libya but the local government refused to send him back, the family said. The doctor is an 1982 alumnus of Guntur Medical College, having done his schooling at Kappaladoddi and Pedana and Intermediate at National College in Machilipatnam. According to his parents he took up employment in Libya in 1999 and has remained there since then.
The doctor’s father Shyamalayya said, “News of his kidnapping has really affected us. I hope I will see him again.”
