Abducted Indian priest Father Tom Uzhunnalil has appealed Pope Francis and the Union government to secure his release.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday said that she will spare no effort to secure the release of abducted Indian priest Father Tom Uzhunnalil.
Swaraj's reaction came after the Indian Catholic priest abducted from Yemen this year appealed to Pope Francis and the Union government through a purported video to secure his release from his captors.
"I have seen the video from Fr Tom. He is an Indian citizen and the life of every Indian is most precious for us," Swaraj said in a series of tweets.
Stating that the government managed to secure the release of Father Alex Prem Kumar and Judith D'Souza, she added, "We have spared no effort and we will spare no effort to secure Father Uzhunnalil's release from captivity."
In the video, aired by news channels in Kerala, Father Uzhunnalil said, "If I were a European priest, I would have been taken more seriously. I am from India. I am perhaps not considered as of much value."
"Dear Pope Francis, dear Holy Father, as a Father please take care of my life. I am very much depressed. My health is deteriorating," he said in the video.
The veracity of the video, which was uploaded from YouTube and Facebook, could neither be independently verified nor was the period when it was shot known.
Father Uzhunnalil, who hails from Kerala, was abducted in March by terror group Islamic State which attacked an old-age home run by Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity in southern Yemeni city of Aden.
He claimed his captors have made many contacts with the Government of India -- President and Prime Minister.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had informed Parliament that Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself has spoken to various countries through which contacts could be established in Yemen.
(With agency inputs)
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