Gandhinagar: Four youths from Mansa in Gandhinagar district, who were held hostage in Iran, have finally been released and have safely returned to India. The youths were reportedly kidnapped while attempting to travel illegally to Australia.
The victims — identified as Ajaykumar Kantibhai Chaudhary (31), Priyaben Ajaykumar Chaudhary (25), Anilkumar Raghajibhai Chaudhary (35), and Nikhilkumar Ramanbhai Chaudhary (28) — had departed from Mansa for Delhi on October 19. They were then taken to Tehran via Bangkok and Dubai on Emirates Airlines. Upon their arrival at Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran, all four were allegedly abducted by a person identified as Baba.
According to available information, the group had been booked to stay at Hally Hotel, located on Bimeh Alley between Somayeh Street and Taleqani Street in Tehran.
As per reports, the kidnappers had demanded a ransom of around ₹2 crore, leaving the families in deep distress. Videos sent by the captors to their families in Gujarat showed the victims being stripped and assaulted. Following this, Mansa MLA J.S. Patel wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, seeking central government intervention to ensure their rescue.
After intervention from the authorities, the youths have now returned to India, landing safely in Ahmedabad. Meanwhile, Gandhinagar Police have initiated legal and administrative procedures. Officials will conduct a detailed interrogation of all four individuals to uncover the full chain of events.
The police aim to expose the larger international human trafficking racket behind such cases. The incident has raised concerns about the growing network of illegal agents luring people with false promises of overseas opportunities.
