Jayalalithaa implores Prime Minister to save Tamil Nadu priest

Chennai: Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to personally intervene at the highest level in Afghanistan to ensure that local authorities redouble their efforts to secure the safe and early release of Father Alexis Prem Kumar.

“Father Alexis Prem Kumar was on a humanitarian mission in Afghanistan working with refugee children when he was kidnapped. The incident has caused considerable anxiety to his family and friends here in Tamil Nadu. There is also a groundswell of sentiment in different parts of the state as Father Prem Kumar has a stellar record of having worked amongst tribal women and children for their welfare. There is a fear that his life may be in mortal danger,” Jayalalithaa stated in her letter to the PM.

According to reports quoting Sediq Sediqqi, Spokesperson for the Afghan Interior Ministry, three Taliban members linked with the abduction of 47-year-old Kumar have been arrested and grilled for more information about the hideout of the victim. However, the spokesperson did not divulge more details and only said that police in Herat is doing their best to ensure the safe release of Kumar.

A native of Tamil Nadu, Kumar was working with the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), an educational charity, as its Afghanistan Director and has been in the war-torn country for over three years. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the abduction.

Before moving to Afghanistan, Kumar had worked for the JRS, serving Sri Lankan refugees in Tamil Nadu. Kumar had accompanied teachers on a visit to a JRS-supported school for returning refugees in Sohadat village, 25 km from the city of Herat.