‘What do I tell our children?’: 5 from Jharkhand abducted by armed men in West Africa’s Niger, a desperate wait for families back home

The other abducted workers are Raju Mahto, Chandrika Mahto, Faljit Mahto, and Uttam Mahto. A Niger citizen, Adam, is also among the abducted.

“We took cover in a company bus and tried to drive away, but it got stuck in the sand. Around 70-80 motorcycles were following us, all carrying guns,” Mojilal, now in a company camp and awaiting safe passage home, told The Indian Express.

According to sources in the Ministry of External Affairs, the ministry is aware of the matter and the Mission in Niger is working on it. “The firing went on for an hour and a half. We managed to escape by slipping into nearby sewage lines but Sanjay, Raju, Faljit, Chandrika, Uttam, and a local from Niger were eventually intercepted by the gunmen. The last thing I saw was Faljit surrendering to the group with his hands raised,” Mojilal said.

Though the armed group involved in the abduction has yet to be identified, the countries of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have been fighting jihadist insurgency linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State. The abduction came a day after 12 soldiers were killed in an attack near the village of Sakoira in the tri-border region, where the West African Sahel countries of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali meet.

According to the website of the Indian Embassy in Niger, there are 125 Indian nationals in Niger, mostly engaged in trading and hospitality business.

The families of the men are now faced with what seems like an endless wait. At Sanjay’s home in Dondlo village, his wife Soni Devi doesn’t know what to tell her two children. “It’s been a week since I last spoke to him, and my children are anguished that their father hasn’t spoken to them in days,” she said. “I have no answer except to say over and over that he’ll come soon.”

In the same village, Raju’s family wonders if they will ever get a chance to speak to him again. Raju and Sanjay knew each other from before, the family said, having worked in Malaysia and Oman before heading to Niger.

“We have only been informed that the company and their government are conducting a search operation,” Raju’s 22-year-old brother Mahesh Kumar said.

When contacted, P Jaganmohan, senior vice-president of Kalpataru Projects International Limited, who oversees the company’s operations in West Africa, Central Asia, and South America, said “nothing like this has ever happened before” in the three years of the company’s work in Niger.

“The kidnapped workers have not been traced, and the government is still working on it. Currently, the status quo remains,” he said.

After the news broke, the families of the abducted men approached Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren for intervention, who in turn appealed to the MEA.

In a post on X, he asked External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar “to please provide help to our migrant brothers from Jharkhand who have been kidnapped in Niger”.

Jharkhand’s State Migrant Control Room (SMCR), a body for migrant workers under the state’s Department of Labour, Employment, Training and Skill Development, said “it is in touch with the company” and that all work has been halted for now.

“The company is regularly updating us about the situation. The missing workers are still unaccounted for, and those left will be rescued once safety clearance is obtained,” SMCR head Shikha Lakra said.

As authorities look for the abducted men, other migrant workers are waiting anxiously for a safe passage home.  “We have packed and are ready to leave,” Mojilal said as he and others awaited a word on their return. “The incident has terrified us.”

“The kidnapped workers have not been traced, and the government is still working on it. Currently, the status quo remains,” he said.

After the news broke, the families of the abducted men approached Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren for intervention, who in turn appealed to the MEA.

In a post on X, he asked External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar “to please provide help to our migrant brothers from Jharkhand who have been kidnapped in Niger”.

Jharkhand’s State Migrant Control Room (SMCR), a body for migrant workers under the state’s Department of Labour, Employment, Training and Skill Development, said “it is in touch with the company” and that all work has been halted for now.

“The company is regularly updating us about the situation. The missing workers are still unaccounted for, and those left will be rescued once safety clearance is obtained,” SMCR head Shikha Lakra said.

As authorities look for the abducted men, other migrant workers are waiting anxiously for a safe passage home.  “We have packed and are ready to leave,” Mojilal said as he and others awaited a word on their return. “The incident has terrified us.”