Rs 18L was sought from us, now no info about him: Kidnapped man's kin

Jaspal, a 32-year-old man from Langroya village, Nawanshahr, is one of the three youths who allegedly were kidnapped in Iran.

Singh wanted to go abroad for better future. He had approached a travel agent in Hoshiarpur who promised Singh that he would be sent to Australia.

With much difficulty, the family arranged for Rs 18 lakh and gave it to the agent. Jaspal Singh has two kids, one is 3-year-old and the younger one is just three-month old.

Ashok Kumar, elder brother of Jaspal Singh, told The Tribune that Jaspal first landed in Dubai and was made to stay there in a room for a month. "After that, he was taken to Iran and the moment he landed there, he was kidnapped," he said.

At 2 am, on the intervening night of May 1 and 2, a call from Jaspal Singh turned the lives of the family members upside down.

"We got a call from Jaspal. He asked us all to remain awake and then he cut the call. We were terrified, at 3 am we got a call again when he told us that he along with others was kidnapped and that if we wanted his safety, then we will have to pay Rs 18 lakh more," Ashok Kumar further added.

The brother shared that for about 15 days, they kept on getting video calls where the family members could see Jaspal getting beaten up brutally and he was shouting in pain, asking for money. "We had already registered a complaint by then," he said.

The family members said for the last 14 days, they haven't heard anything regarding Jaspal. "We don't know whether he is fine or not," Ashok said.