SOS sent out by captive to Gujarat CMO helps bring ordeal to an end
Intervention by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi helped rescue some 135 tourists in Lakshadweep after they were held hostage by the local people, according to an official spokesman.
The spokesman said here on Sunday that Mr. Modi had alerted the Union Home Ministry about the hostage drama which led to their release.
According to the spokesman, the tourists — including over 30 children and some government officials — came from various parts of the mainland. They were holidaying when they were “captured” by some local people in Kalpeni Island. The captors were using the tourists to highlight grievances against the local administration. About 35 tourists hailed from Gujarat.
‘Ill-treated’
No communication network was functioning except the BSNL's and even that briefly. A tourist from Gujarat managed to send a brief message to the Chief Minister's Office in Gandhinagar, informing it they had been kidnapped and were being “ill-treated.” The captors initially did not allow any food or water even for the children.
On being apprised of the hostage situation, Mr. Modi immediately called up Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram and requested his intervention. Simultaneously, he also directed Chief Secretary A.K. Joti, and Gujarat's Resident Commissioner in New Delhi, Bharat Lal, to take up the matter with the other officials in the Home Ministry and the local administration of Lakshadweep to extend all possible assistance to the hostages.
Mr. Joti contacted Lakshadweep administrator Amar Nath while Mr. Lal spoke to the Additional Secretary in the Union Home Ministry who co-ordinated the rescue and relief operations with Lakshadweep Collector Vasant Kumar.
Mr. Kumar, with the help of the local police and other officials, held negotiations with the captors. After the administration promised the locals that their problems would be solved, the hostages were released. The tourists then reached the main island from where they left for home.
A Surat-based medical practitioner, who along with his wife and child, was among the hostages, informed his parents here that the captors gave them food and water later in the night when the negotiations were in progress and also turned friendly
Keywords: Gujarat tourists, Lakshadweep hostage drama, Kalpeni Island
I have been to Lakshadweep many times and I know the love and affection of islanders....Its nice to see that CM of Gujarath stood for the problems (though there was no problem), all must understand the conditions of islanders there. Please dont mistake the islanders, they are such a passionate people....they are denied with all the facilities and we from mainland goes there and use there resources, pollute the environment and come back.....So THE GOI can act atleast now.......make sure more ship/vessel for them...... fresh water to drink, medical and education facilities...ban the fishing by foreign vessels....
I was one of the so called hostage "captured" by the locals.i would like to put it across that none of us were illtreated.there were 45 Gujaratis who got hyper and gave away wrong informations to the media,infact they were asking us to act as if we r scared while taking the footage when everybody were actually laughing n playing.In fact which abductors would give carrom board,chess n cards to keep poeple entertained, we were given that too .the administrators had infact arranged for shelter in indoor stadium but even after requesting my fellow passengers refused to go there.its wrong to say that we were not allowed any water or food coz we were given tea,coffee n biscuit at 6:30p.m,all the children were given maggi at around 8p.m and by 10p.m we were all given dinner n not a normal dinner of dal n rice but there were different counters for both Veg n non-veg.there were rotis too imagine making rotis for 136 people.the locals did so much and yet wrong info was given away about them.
My people, his people?? What about those living in the islands? Whom do they belong to? To a country that does not even provide basic infrastructure to the island? Why does this country has to wait until its people resort to drastic steps like taking people hostage to make the country listen to their basic requirements? If Modi was so concerned about "his" people, where was he till now? What will he do from now to improve conditions in the island? He does not have a jurisdiction to deal with the island, than his political ambitions. Where is the administration of the island? The decision of a group of people in the island to resort to such drastic steps is not momentary. For many, everything has been resolved! Not for those living in the islands. His people? Are the people of this country property of a bunch of politicians or is it a democracy?
The prompt action of Mr.Modi is praiseworthy.He did not have any inhibition in talking to the home minister directly,to help his people.
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