Families of three Indian nationals abducted in Mali last week remain in deep distress, with no updates on their whereabouts or safety. The men, employed at the Diamond Cement Factory in Kayes, were kidnapped on Tuesday by unidentified armed assailants. India’s Ministry of External Affairs confirmed the abduction, urging all Indian citizens in Mali to remain vigilant.
The incident has caused panic among the Indian diaspora in Africa, particularly as it follows the kidnapping of five Indians in Niger in April, whose fate also remains unknown. The Sahel region, encompassing Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, has become a hotspot of violent extremism. A recent report by the Global Terrorism Index named the Sahel as the “epicentre of global terrorism”, accounting for over half of all terrorism-related deaths worldwide.
The group suspected to be behind the Mali abductions is Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliate, which claimed responsibility for multiple attacks on the same day the abduction occurred. Gunfire was reportedly heard throughout Kayes, a resident told the BBC.
Among the abducted is Panad Venkatramana, an engineer from Odisha. His mother, Narsamma, shared that she last spoke with him on June 30. “He said he was going to work and would call later,” she recalled. Days later, they saw news of his kidnapping on TV. The family has since filed a police complaint and received support from former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who urged Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar to intervene.
In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the family of Amaralingaeswara Rao, an assistant general manager at the same factory, is equally distraught. Rao had been working in Mali for eight years to support his family. His father, Koorakula Venkateswarlu, said Rao had planned a visit home in October. “Now we don’t know when or if we will see him again,” he said.
India’s foreign ministry has assured that it is in touch with Malian authorities and the victims’ employer, but families are desperate for answers—and above all, for the safe return of their loved ones.
