Family pleads for Government of India’s intervention to ensure safe return of abducted husband
Tahir Mushtaq
Ramban, DD, A wave of anxiety and despair has engulfed the family of Ranjeet Singh, a resident of Chakka Kundi (Saraz) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ramban district, following his reported abduction by a terrorist group in Niger, West Africa.
The family is now fervently appealing to the Government of India for immediate intervention to ensure his safe and swift return.
Ranjeet Singh was working with Transrail Lighting Limited, an Indian company involved in transmission line construction, substation work, and rural electrification projects in parts of Africa, including Niger. Previously posted in Assam, Singh was transferred to Niger in 2023.
On 15 July, Singh last spoke to his wife, Sheela Devi, and told her he would be returning to India on leave by October 2025.
However, fate took a tragic turn the very next day when he and a group of colleagues were attacked by terrorists while working in the Dosso region of Niger. The attackers reportedly killed one or two workers and abducted Singh before fleeing the site.
Back home, unaware of the incident, Sheela Devi grew increasingly worried as her WhatsApp messages to her husband remained unread. “I kept messaging him, but there was no reply. None of the messages were even seen,” said the visibly distressed mother of three, speaking to reporters after submitting a memorandum to Ramban Deputy Commissioner Mohammed Ilyas Khan.
Breaking down in front of the media, Sheela Devi appealed to the Government of India to step in and help trace and rescue her husband.
“All my efforts to reach him were in vain. Later, one of his friends informed me about the incident,” she said.
Following the news, she contacted the management of Transrail Lighting Limited, but claims the company was unresponsive and did little to clarify the situation.
“They kept us in the dark. No steps were taken by the management to secure his release,” she alleged.
With nowhere else to turn, the family approached the Deputy Commissioner, Ramban assured them of all possible assistance and promised to raise the matter with the appropriate authorities for further action at the national level.
The local police have also been informed, but until the time of filing this report, the circumstances surrounding the Ramban man’s abduction remained unclear.
His family continues to wait for any official update, clinging to hope for his safe return. (DD)