Father Alexis Prem Kumar, the Tamil Nadu-born Catholic priest who was abducted from the Herat province of Afghanistan in June 2014 by extremists and was released on last Sunday after eight months in captivity, said here on Thursday that he was looked after well by the abductors.
"I was treated very well; no threat to life; I was always told that I would be freed soon. Early morning I was allowed to pray. In the morning, I was given three cups of tea with a piece of naan; lunch and supper were the main meals - naan or rice/ vegetable and periodically meat," Father Prem Kumar told reporters at Chennai on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters for the first time since his release, the 47-year-old priest said that during his captivity he did not face any kind of threat or hardship. "The leader of the group asked everyday about my well-being. I was well taken care of. But, most of the time, I was chained, possibly to prevent my running away. There were always three men with guns who guarded me. They looked simple and desperate. One among them treated me rudely," he said.
He said he was told about his impending release on February 17. It took him and others two days to reach Kandahar from the place where he had been kept in captivity."We travelled through deserts and rivers. The official of the Indian embassy was waiting for me at Kandahar. From Kandahar, they put me in a flight to Kabul. I reached New Delhi in the evening of February 23," said the priest.
Father Prem Kumar, the manager of Jesuit Refugee Service in Afghanistan, an NGO sponsored by the Catholic Church, was working among the refugees of Afghanistan. "I was mainly into managing the affairs of JRS and occasionally taught the children. Though the abduction was an unpleasant phase, I still love to go to Afghanistan if my seniors want me to do so," he added.
The priest and the organisers of Jesuit Refugee Service praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his Cabinet colleagues, the National Security Advisor Ajit Dowal and former Chief Minister J Jayallithaa who ensured his safe release from the Afghan rebels.