Andhra doctor rescued in Libya after 18 months

A doctor from Eluru in Andhra Pradesh who had been kidnapped by Islamic State militants in Libya in 2015 has been rescued and is being brought back to India, the government said. The doctor's family in India is overjoyed at news of his rescue.

The information was tweeted by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj late on Tuesday night.

"We have rescued Dr. Ramamurthy Kosanam in Libya. Dr. Kosanam has suffered a bullet injury. We are bringing him to India shortly. With this, we have rescued all the six Indians abducted there. I appreciate the good work done by our mission there."

Ramamurthy was working as a physician in the Ibn-e-Sina Hospital at Sirte. On September 8, 2015, a group of IS militants entered the hospital and kidnapped Ramamurthy, engineer Samal Pravash Ranjan of Odisha and seven Filipino nurses from their residential quarters.

Ramamurthy is a native of Eluru town in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.

The news of his rescue finally brought happiness to the doctor's family, who were anxiously waiting for his release for last 18 months.

The family members, however, are waiting for more information as he had suffered a bullet injury.

Ramamurthy was the last of the Indian nationals to be rescued from the captivity of IS in Libya.

While two professors from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana were released in September last year, the doctor had remained in IS captivity.

The release of two professors, working at Sirte University, had brought hopes to Ramamurthy's family but they were worried over not receiving any information about him.

The family members had been in regular touch with Sushma Swaraj and were praying for his safe release.

The doctor's wife Bhavani had also appealed to the IS to release him unharmed.

--IANS

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