A Keralite has escaped from the captivity of Al Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf militants in the Philippines.
K. Biju, belonging to Kappad in Kozhikode, managed to give his captors the slip after 13 months in captivity in a forest and reached a nearby village. The police later took him to their headquarters in Manila and informed the Indian Embassy.
Mr. Biju was spending a holiday in the Philippines with his Filipino wife and two children in June last year when militants kidnapped him for ransom. There were reports that the militants had killed him as his family had refused to pay the ransom.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy urged the Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi on Friday to facilitate Mr. Biju’s return to Kerala at the earliest. The Chief Minister spoke to Mr. Biju over phone.