Pravash Ranjan Samal, who was abducted by the ISIS terrorists in war-torn libya, was reportedly released on Wednesday.
"The terrorists released him last evening," said Samal's bhuja (elder brother's wife) Manasi, who is staying in Rourkela. She said Pravash had called her on phone on Thursday afternoon and informed about his abduction and release.
Samal, who originally hails from Kendrapada, is working as a hospital technician. While his family members confirmed the news, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) was yet to issue a formal statement.
Manasi said Pravash called her between 2 pm and 3 pm on Thursday from one of his friends' phone and talked with her only for two-three minutes.
Odisha man abducted by ISIS in libya freed"He called me and said he was released by the terrorists last evening and is now doing fine," said Manasi.
"The group had abducted four people, and only Pravash has been released on condition that he would continue to work in the hospital where he used to work," added Manasi quoting Pravash.
Pravash has been in libya for 20 years.
"We are extremely happy that he is okay. We request the Government to do the needful to bring him back as soon as possible," his elder brother Bibhuranjan Samal said.
Notably, the MEA had issued a statement on Wednesday about the abduction of two Indians in war-torn libya. However, as per Pravash's telephonic conversation with his family, four men have been kidnapped and three are still held hostage.
More importantly, the exact conditions of release and the reason for releasing only one man and keeping the rest three hostages were yet to be cleared.