Srinagar, Mar 13: A doctor from Kashmir has been killed in conflict-ridden Libya after being abducted by unidentified gunmen last Sunday. The medico, identified as Dr Irfan Ali, hailing from Nishat-Shalimar area of Srinagar, was kidnapped by unidentified gunmen in Derna, Libya, on Sunday. A day later, local police recovered his body. Irfan was a physiotherapist . A spokesman of Ministry of External Affairs told Greater Kashmir that Indian Mission in Libya is in constant touch with local authorities. “Mission is in constant touch with local authorities for investigating the matter as well as for arranging dispatch of mortal remains at the earliest possible,” JP Singh, Officer on Special Duty (Press Relations), MEA, told this newspaper in an e-mail. Dr Irfan along with eight other Kashmiris was recruited by a Libyan hospital in November-Decemb er last year. Derna, an eastern town of Libya, has been witnessing disturbances after the downfall of Muammar Gaddafi government by the National Transitional Council (NTC) backed by NATO. The MEA said Irfan was killed by some “miscreants but the actual position will be conveyed soon.” The Indian Ambassador to Libya, Anil Tringunayat, was quoted by Libya Herald as saying that he was alarmed by the killing of the young man who, he said, was representative of the 1,600 doctors that had come to Libya to help its people during and after the revolution. Tringunayat said the medico was one of six Indian doctors working at Derna hospital and that he was held in high esteem along with his colleagues. He added that he was in contact with the Libyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Interior. “But there has been very little information offered concerning the circumstances of the killing and I have little hope that the perpetrators will be found,” he said. The doctor’s body is currently at Derna hospital and will be taken to Benghazi before it is returned to Kashmir. According to sources, the medico’s post-mortem was performed on Tuesday and other formalities are being completed. Greater Kashmir received several e-mails throughout the day from Kashmiris working in the Arab country, expressing grief over Irfan’s death.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 02:56:03 +0000
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