It continues to be an agonisingly long wait for information, for the family of the kidnapped engineer, 45-year-old Palagani Krishna Rao.
A native of Chandrada village in Gudlavalleru mandal of Krishna district, Mr. Rao, a civil engineer, worked in several places in the past.
The family appeared distraught as there was neither any communication from the kidnappers nor any demands made till Monday morning.
Crying inconsolably, his wife Rajeswari and daughter Prasanna said, “It has been almost four days since his mobile phone has been switched off.”
Mr. Rao’s son Karthik added: “The company informed us on Saturday that he was kidnapped, and we want to know about his whereabouts immediately.”
Ms. Prasanna said they were keen that the situation was handled smoothly. “All we want is the safe return of our father.”
Recalling her conversation with company officials, Ms. Rajeswari said her husband was at an end of the worksite that was away from other employees when the militants swooped down and ordered him to follow them. Thereafter, there was no communication from them.
Quoting the officials further, she said the militants had not yet put out any demands.
“The company is ready to pay ransom to free my husband. But, they [militants] haven’t contacted us so far,” she said.
The family members said Mr. Rao used to phone them everyday after 9 p.m. He spoke the same way on Thursday night.
From Friday onwards, calls to his mobile phone elicited the response “switched off” and they learnt about his abduction from the company officials.
