A couple from Gujarat’s Anand district was kidnapped and held hostage for ransom in Azerbaijan while en route to the US, and was later rescued with the help of the Indian foreign ministry, Lok Sabha MP Mitesh Patel said.

Dhruv Patel and his wife Dipika have been released and are safe, thanks to the timely efforts of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), he said in a video statement.

“Two days ago, parents of Dhruv Patel and Dipika Patel contacted me and told me that they were kidnapped in Azerbaijan. They said they (family members) received a video call in which people (kidnappers) from Azerbaijan demanded ransom for their release," the BJP MP said on Tuesday.

The couple was kidnapped while on their way to the US with the help of agents who had promised them safe passage to America through illegal means, he added.

When the couple’s worried family members reached out to Mitesh Patel’s office, he made a high-level representation to the MEA and met external affairs minister S. Jaishankar on Monday in New Delhi during the ongoing Parliament session.

The MEA contacted the Indian Embassy in Azerbaijan, and within 24 hours, both Dhruv and Dipika were rescued and brought to the Embassy in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, Mitesh Patel said.

“The kidnappers had threatened to kill the couple if they were not paid ransom. Our government worked very hard to bring them alive. I would like to appeal to the youth of Anand not to try to go abroad through such agents. Rather, work here. You will get the best opportunities here (in Gujarat),” the Lok Sabha MP said.

He thanked the MEA and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the government’s efforts in rescuing the couple.