Telangana CM urges centre to secure kidnapped Telugu men's release

Hyderabad, Aug 1: The Telangana government on Saturday urged the external affairs ministry to take steps for the safe and early release of two Telugu men kidnapped by suspected Islamic State militants in Libya.

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao hoped that Balram Kishan of Telangana and T. Gopikrishna of Andhra Pradesh will safely return home.

In a statement here, he said the state government was in touch with the central government, who in turn is coordinating with the authorities in Libya for safe release of the abductees.

Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma on Saturday wrote a letter to the external affairs secretary in this regard.

Chief Minister's Office (CMO) and Telangana Bhavan in New Delhi are in regular touch with the ministry of external affairs for the updates, said a statement from the CMO.

Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said he also spoke to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and urged her to expedite the efforts to secure release of the two men.

He also congratulated her for securing the safe release of two other men, hailing from Karnataka.

The four Indians, all teachers at University of Sirte, were returning to India via Tripoli and Tunis on July 29 when they were detained at a check point, 50 km from Sirte.

While Lakshmikant and Vijay Kumar Awere released on Friday, there is still no word about the two Telugu men.

IANS