Mumbai, May 27: Indian engineer Nayeem Sarang, who spent nearly a month in captivity in Afghanistan, returned to his Mumbai home on Saturday evening.
The 39-year-old Sarang, who was abducted along with colleague Gurang last month in Adraskan near the Iran border, told Times of India on Sunday that they were made to walk through jungles through the day, surviving on sparse food.
Sarang and Gurang, a Nepalese national, were kidnapped on April 21 while they were returning in an office vehicle after buying some electronic items. “Four persons, with their faces covered, intercepted our vehicle, handcuffed us and dumped us in the boot. Majid, our driver and an Afghan national, was released,’’ a tired Sarang recalled. His wife and three children live in Mumbai.
Relatives and friends started pouring in at Sarang’s Kurla residence on hearing the news of his return. It was an emotional reunion, complete with hugs and sweets. Sarang’s wife Rafat Sultan broke down as soon as she saw her husband at the airport and said it was the result of prayers that she got her husband back.
“It was a three-hour drive before they abandoned the vehicle and made us walk for hours before we reached a desert. There was only a bottle of water and some dry chapatis. We had to survive on that,’’ says Sarang
According to him, the four abductors carried two cellphones and used to go to a specific place, where the mobile network was available, and speak to their leaders.
“At night, we were handcuffed and kept in a hut. It was difficult to sleep. Three abductors armed with weapons stood guard. Around 6.30 am, we got up. At times, we were served a cup of tea. We were either taken to a new village or made to walk through the jungles. This was our daily routine while we were in their custody,’’ said Sarang. “The only food we got was dry chappatis and that, too, not every day. The guards who came as replacements got the food. When we ran out of food, we survived on fruits found in the forests.’’
Sarang recalled that the abductors hardly spoke to them. “We were asked to speak in Persian but kept quiet most of the time. “I remember being asked why Indians were working in Afghanistan. I said it was for the development of their country.’’
Sarang, an electrical engineer, had worked in Mumbai for 10 years before leaving for a hotel in Kabul. In January this year, he joined HEB International Logistics. Sarang, who was on a six-month contract with the new company, was based in Herat.
Sarang’s father Mohammed Hussain, a mechanical engineer who worked in a company in Saudi Arabia for 20 years before retiring, reached Mumbai from his Mangalore home. “I am glad to have my son back. We had been praying for him. Our thanks to the ministry of external affairs and all those who took interest in getting my son back,’’ said Hussain. His elder brother, Zahid, is employed with a company based in Qatar.
Narrating an encounter with tribals in the jungles, Sarang said, “One day, we reached an unknown area where children were playing in an otherwise deserted forest area. Some of the tribals who spotted us asked something but we could not understand what they said. Meanwhile, we heard bullet shots. We thought it was all over, but the abductors gestured something to the villagers and the firing stopped soon after. We later learnt that strangers were not allowed in that village.’’
“On May 18 morning, we were sleeping in a hut when we suddenly heard a commotion outside. The Afghan police had cordoned off the area and were ordering the abductors to surrender. The police then took us along and arrested the abductors. On being asked what had happened, we narrated the entire episode, after which we were put in a car. Five hours later, we were dropped at our office,’’ he recalled.
Sarang does not want to go to Afghanistan again. “We were rescued by the Afghan police in an encounter on May 18. I don’t want to go back there. I wish I can forget it as a bad dream and don’t want to look back,’’ he said.
Sarang’s visa processing took four days in Kabul and that’s why his arrival got delayed, his family said.