After a long wait of eight months, Father Alexis Prem Kumar was released from captivity in Afghanistan.
Albert Manoharan, brother of Father Alexis Prem Kumar, who hails from Tamil Nadu, said his brother would be back in New Delhi tonight.
Manoharan said Prime Minister Narendra Modi today spoke to their family on the news of the release of Father Kumar. He thanked both the Centre and the state government for their efforts in securing the release.
PM Modi tweeted “delighted at securing the release of Indian Jesuit priest Father Alexis Prem Kumar from captivity in Afghanistan. Have spoken to Father Alexis Prem Kumar. Informed the happy family of Father Alexis Prem Kumar of his safe return after 8 months in captivity.”
Kumar, who was the head of NGO Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), was abducted on June 2 last year from the Zendjan district in Afghanistan’s Herat province. He was visiting a project site for establishing a school for Afghan refugee children. According to reports, JRS has been working in Afghanistan since 2005 accompanying returnees to home from exile in Iran and Pakistan.
It is learnt JRS was actively providing education and healthcare services in Afghanistan’s Bamiyan, Kabul and Herat provinces.
