MEHSANA: A couple from Gujarat's Mehsana district and their three-year-old daughter were allegedly taken hostage in Libya for a ransom of Rs 2 crore while trying to immigrate to Portugal, officials said on Saturday.
Kismatsinh Chavda, his wife Heenaben and daughter Devanshi were kidnapped in the North African nation, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, en route to Portugal, where the man's brother is settled, Mehsana Superintendent of Police Himanshu Solanki said.
He said that the family from Badalpura village in the district was travelling with the help of a Portugal-based agent with the plan to settle in the European country.
The official said Mehsana Collector SK Prajapati has been informed about the incident.
The family took a flight to Dubai from Ahmedabad on November 29.
From there, they were taken to Benghazi City in Libya, where they were kidnapped, Solanki said.
"Chavda's brother is settled in Portugal, and he was travelling with the help of an agent based in Portugal. The family was travelling with the intention to settle there, and the agents involved in the case are not Indians," Solanki said.
The official said that the kidnappers have contacted the relatives of the family in Mehsana, demanding Rs 2 crore as ransom.
Collector Prajapati said that Chavda's kin approached him on Friday, and that he has informed the state government and the Ministry of External Affairs about their case.