Abduction drama ends as Prabir returns home

Eleven days after Prabir Singh was kidnapped on his way home from a tuition class, the Amritsar student’s abduction drama has come to a...

Eleven days after Prabir Singh was kidnapped on his way home from a tuition class, the Amritsar student’s abduction drama has come to an intriguing end. Last night, Prabir called up home from a phone booth near Faridabad to tell them that he was ‘‘safe’’. Amidst widespread speculation that a huge ransom was paid, his father, a local rice miller, refused to speak on the circumstances in which the student was rescued. Prabir, his father said, was ‘‘picked up’’ by a close relative who took him home.

‘‘He is safe and sound. He is running mild fever and is staying at his maternal

uncle’s house in Faridabad,’’ said Kuljit Singh, sounding visibly relieved. He said the family would never ‘‘forget’’ the past eleven days of their lives. ‘‘We are thankful to God that our son is back.’’

Singh denied paying any ransom. ‘‘I just got a call from Guddu (Prabir) from a PCO in Delhi. My brother-in-law picked him up late last night.’’

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Later, in a telephone conversation with The Indian Express, Prabir said he was taken to UP by the trio who had abducted him. ‘‘The three people who picked me up from Amritsar took me to Uttar Pradesh.’’

He refused to answer queries about the places where he was held captive and the details about the people involved.

Back home, Prabir’s folks were ecstatic after they heard the news that he was safe and sound. Prabir, a DAV School student, was kidnapped on February 7 from Majitha Road while returning home from a tuition class in his Honda Accord car.