No ransom for the release of IS-abducted Father: V.K. Singh

By Akhileshwari Anand Raj

V.K. Singh, the Minister of State for External Affairs, has said that no ransom amount was paid for the release of Father Tom Uzhunnalil, who was abducted by Islamic State (IS) terrorists in Yemen. It was underlined that the Ministry “works quietly without noise, but ultimately gets the work done”. The minister, V.K. Singh, heralded this as a diplomatic victory. This comes in the light of reports that India had paid $1 crore through back channels in order to free Father Uzhunnalil, who is now in the Vatican.

A plea for help

Father Uzhunnalil, who hails from Kerala, was abducted by Islamic State terrorists in war-stricken Yemen, on March 6th, 2016. This was from a care home located in the port city of Aden. At least 15 people from the old-age home were killed in this attack.

In December 2016, a video of Uzhunnalil surfaced on the internet, in which he appealed to the Indian government to rescue him. In the video, he was seen as saying that had he been a European priest, he would have been taken much more seriously, but as he is from India, he is perhaps not considered to be of much value.

V. K. Singh’s statement

While addressing a press conference, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs, V.K. Singh, spoke about how the Ministry works quietly but ultimately gets the work done. He said, “We know the type of criticism that the Ministry was subject to when Father Uzhunnalil disappeared in Yemen. We are happy that he has come back safely and I’m sure people will appreciate that we were able to get him out safe and sound.”

Addressing the role of Oman in Uzhunnalil’s rescue, Singh said that various methods were used to tackle the problem. If a direct method did not work, indirect methods were employed. The aim was to get the problem solved.

Sushma Swaraj to the rescue

In a series of tweets, Sushma Swaraj said that Uzhunnalil had contacted her after his rescue. He profusely thanked the government of India, especially the Prime Minister, along with the governments of other countries. He also thanked the people who had aided his rescue mission, and the people of India for their concern and prayers. Singh stated that Uzhunnalil was in Vatican after his rescue, and it was unclear as to whether he would return to India.

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