A 21-year-old medical student from Hulyala village of Aurad taluk in Bidar district, who was abducted from Ukraine on January 16, was found in Kyrgyzstan.
The victim was identified as Ajay Kumar Rathod. He got admission for a medical course and left for Ukraine on December 14, 2020. Sources in the police said that Ajay Rathod could return home in the next three or four days.
The incident came to light when the abductors called up the family members of Ajay Rathod back in India. The family members said that the kidnappers demanded ₹ 1 crore as ransom.
The family members of the victim contacted Minister for Animal Husbandry and Bidar district in-charge Prabhu Chavan. The incident was brought to the notice of Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai and a connection was established with Ukraine Embassy through the Ministry for External Affairs.
The Ukraine Embassy informed that the student was found in Kyrgyzstan. The Indian Embassy contacted the concerned who were then requested to send Ajay Rathod back to India.
A joint effort by Mr. Chavan, Bidar MP Bhagwant Khuba and the Bidar Police has helped in finding the missing student.
In September 2020, a 19-year-old Amar Biradar of Bhalki taluk in Bidar studying MBBS at Kharkiv National Medical University in Ukraine, died under mysterious circumstances.
Mr. Chavan has suggested to students to stop going to foreign countries for higher studies as high quality education is now being imparted in India itself.
