The kidnapping follows foiled attack on the Indian consulate in Herat last month
Fr Alexis Prem Kumar – The director of Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in Afghanistan was abducted on Monday afternoon by a group of unidentified men from Sohadat village outside Herat. Fr Alexis Prem Kumar, 47, was visiting a school for refugee Afghan children recently returned from Iran and Pakistan at the time of the abduction.
Syed Akbaruddin, spokesperson for the federal External Affairs Ministry, said via a Twitter post that Indian officials in Herat were pursuing the matter with local authorities. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the abduction. “We are keeping our fingers crossed and very much concerned about the well being of [Fr Kumar].” The kidnapping follows thwarted attack last month on the Indian consulate in Herat by four armed gunmen who were killed by consulate guards.
Fr. Kumar is a member of the Madurai Jesuit province in Tamil Nadu in southern India. He has served in Afghanistan for the last three years and has worked with JRS for more than a decade.
We hope and pray that Father Alexis Prem Kumar, is safe and is released with no harm done, at the earliest – Editor