Award-winning Kerala novelist, playwright and scion of the erstwhile royal family of Travancore, Shreekumar Varma who was taken hostage on January 23 when he was travelling in Western Africa, has been rescued, the MEA confirmed on Friday.
In a case whose details have been tightly guarded for fear of Mr. Varma's life, officials told The Hindu "Our Ambassador in Senegal has confirmed Shreekumar Varma's rescue. He will be returning to India soon."
As The Hindu had earlier reported, his family based in Chennai had reported his release to safety on Thursday, but had been awaiting official confirmation.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) which had been extremely cautious about the sensitive case and the negotiations around it, was not available for comment, but the family of Mr. Varma, confirmed that he had been freed from the group which had abducted him.
Earlier, diplomatic sources had said that the Indian embassy in Dakar was tracking the case and working with the local authorities to have him freed.
Lured by kidnappers
Mr. Varma, the great grandson of the legendary 19th century painter Raja Ravi Varma, apparently was lured to Senegal to negotiate the sale of one of the canvases by the painter, which is part of the Travancore inheritance.
He reportedly was supposed to negotiate the deal with one Subramaniam Seshadri who works in an India-owned construction firm in Senegal. But problem began as soon as Mr. Varma landed in Dakar on a commercial flight via Dubai.
He was received by a Senegalese man named Abdul, who informed him that his expected contact, Mr. Seshadri, would no longer be able to meet him. According to a market source, an original Ravi Varma painting is worth nearly $2 million now.
Mr. Varma, who landed in Senegal on January 18, contacted his son last on January 23 to inform him of brewing trouble with the people who had invited him for negotiation but apparently he was taken away by a group immediately thereafter.
A letter written to the MEA by Vinayak, the novelist’s son, said that Mr. Varma’s trip to Senegal was part of a family-backed attempt to sell the original Ravi Varma painting with the help of Mr. Seshadri.
Mr. Varma tried to escape but failed and subsequently his passport was also taken away by Abdul.
Senegal is located in Western Africa and borders Mali which has been repeatedly targeted by terrorist groups in the recent past.
