Hyderabad student goes ‘missing’ in US, family receives ‘ransom’ call

PTI

Hyderabad, March 20

A 25-year-old student from Hyderabad, studying in the US, has gone missing there since March 7 and his family here said they received a “ransom” call.

Mohammed Abdul, a resident of Nacharam here, went to the US in May 2023 to pursue a Masters in IT from Cleveland University and was staying in Cleveland, his family said.

Mohammed Saleem, Abdul’s father, said his son last spoke to him on March 7, and since then he was not in touch with his family and his mobile phone was switched off. Abdul’s roommates in the US informed him that they have lodged a missing complaint with Cleveland Police.

Demanded $1,200

• Mohammed Abdul went to the US in May 2023 to pursue a Masters in IT from Cleveland University
• Abdul’s father said his son last spoke to him on March 7
• On March 19, Abdul’s family received a call from an unidentified person, who claimed that Abdul had been kidnapped allegedly by a gang selling drugs and demanded $1,200 to “release” him
• The caller also threatened to sell Abdul’s kidneys if the ransom wasn’t paid

However, on March 19, Abdul’s family received a call from an unidentified person, who claimed that Abdul had been kidnapped allegedly by a gang selling drugs and demanded $1,200 to “release” him. The caller also threatened to sell Abdul’s kidneys if the ransom wasn’t paid, his father said.

“Yesterday, I got a call from an unknown number and the caller informed me that my son has been kidnapped and demanded money. The caller did not mention the mode of payment but just asked to pay the amount. When I asked the caller to allow us to talk to my son, he refused,” Saleem said.

Abdul’s parents requested the Centre to take necessary measures to bring back their son safely. Saleem also wrote a letter to EAM S Jaishankar in this regard.