Couple among 4 from Gujarat return home after being held hostage in Iran for ransom

Four people, including a married couple from Gandhinagar district of Gujarat, who were allegedly held hostage in Iran while on their way to Australia, returned home safely on Tuesday, police said.

Gandhinagar Superintendent of Police Ravi Teja Vasamsetty said the four, residents of Bapupura village under Mansa taluka in the district, returned home via New Delhi.

Earlier, Mansa MLA Jayanti Patel of the BJP had said in a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah that the victims were kidnapped in Iranian capital Tehran while on their way to a hotel from the airport in a taxi, and sought his help in their release and safe return.

They reached Ahmedabad from Iran by a flight via New Delhi, and later left for their village, Vasamsetty said.

"We do not have any official details on them, nor have they filed any complaint. But we will probe the matter after they recover from the trauma," he said.

The victims were identified as Ajay Chaudhary, his wife Priyaben, Anil Chaudhary and Nikhil Chaudhary by MLA Patel in his October 26 letter to Shah.

Patel said that after leaving for Australia, the four were taken from New Delhi to Bangkok, and from there to Dubai and Tehran, where they were held hostage.

In his letter, the MLA said family members received videos of the victims being held hostage with kidnappers demanding crores in ransom.