In all five migrant workers from Giridih in Jharkhand were abducted, reports The Indian Express.

The same report points out that these workers were employed with Kalpataru Projects International Limited, a company focused on power transmission and distribution and urban infrastructure projects.

According to The Indian Express report, the abduction process began right when these Jharkhandi men were just finishing their lunch and were about to resume work when they heard gunfire. “It was just like in the movies,” The Indian Express report quotes Mojilal Mahto, a 35-year-old migrant worker from Jharkhand’s Dondlo village, as saying.

He reportedly recalled the moment his brother-in-law Sanjay Mahto and four other men from the state were abducted by armed gunmen in the Tillaberi region of the West African country of Niger on April 25.

In fact, the same report points out that these migrant workers were employed with Kalpataru Projects International Limited, a company focused on power transmission and distribution and urban infrastructure projects.

The other abducted workers are Raju Mahto, Chandrika Mahto, Faljit Mahto, and Uttam Mahto. A Niger citizen, Adam, is also among the abducted, the same report adds.
“We took cover in a company bus and tried to drive away, but it got stuck in the sand. Around 70-80 motorcycles were following us, all carrying guns,” Mojilal, now in a company camp and awaiting safe passage home, reportedly said.

According to The Indian Express “sources” in the Ministry of External Affairs, “the ministry is aware of the matter and the Mission in Niger is working on it. “The firing went on for an hour and a half. We managed to escape by slipping into nearby sewage lines but Sanjay, Raju, Faljit, Chandrika, Uttam, and a local from Niger were eventually intercepted by the gunmen. The last thing I saw was Faljit surrendering to the group with his hands raised,” Mojilal said.
Though the armed group involved in the abduction has yet to be identified, the countries of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have been fighting jihadist insurgency linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State. The abduction came a day after 12 soldiers were killed in an attack near the village of Sakoira in the tri-border region, where the West African Sahel countries of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali meet.
According to the website of the Indian Embassy in Niger, there are 125 Indian nationals in Niger, mostly engaged in trading and hospitality business.
The families of the men are now faced with what seems like an endless wait. At Sanjay’s home in Dondlo village, his wife Soni Devi doesn’t know what to tell her two children. “It’s been a week since I last spoke to him, and my children are anguished that their father hasn’t spoken to them in days,” she said. “I have no answer except to say over and over that he’ll come soon.”