‘You have 7 days…’: Months after Jharkhand migrant’s abduction in Niger, friend receives a chilling message

The text also had asked Ajay to contact “a negotiator” at the Nigeria-based non-profit Kalthum Foundation for Peace. “He (Rajkumar Mahto) is a childhood friend and has only my phone number memorised,” Ajay, himself a migrant worker employed with a Dubai-based company, told The Indian Express.

Then, on July 2, just as he approached authorities and was figuring out how to act, he allegedly got the second — and more chilling — message. “You have 7 days to act or your relatives — all the 5 persons — will be history,” it read. “What is needed is known to you.”

The escalatory tone of the second message scared him, Ajay said. By then, he had already reached out to social activist and All Jharkhand Student Union leader Sanjay Mehta for help. He also approached the Embassy, which said it would “act on it”.

“He [Mehta] drafted a formal negotiation request to the foundation, which I then forwarded to the unknown sender,” he said.

On his part, Mehta confirmed that Ajay had reached out to him. “When we contacted them [the Kalthum Foundation], they said they could only act if authorised by Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff. We informed the MEA and sent a formal request, but the problem is that the abduction occurred in Niger, and the foundation can’t operate there without permission,” Mehta said.

When contacted, Jharkhand’s Labour Commissioner Ravi Ranjan Kumar Vikram confirmed that they were aware of the messages that Ajay had received. “We are drafting a letter based on the incident, which will be sent to the Government of India,” he said. “We are also approaching the Chief Minister’s office immediately and will be sending a letter. Our team members are in continuous touch with the Indian embassy”.