The kidnappers have contacted the family’s relatives in Mehsana, demanding Rs 2 crore for their release. (AI-generated image)

A couple from Gujarat’s Mehsana district and their three-year-old daughter have been kidnapped in Libya and held for a ransom of Rs 2 crore while attempting to migrate to Portugal, senior officials said on Saturday.

Mehsana Superintendent of Police Himanshu Solanki confirmed that Kismatsinh Chavda, his wife Heenaben, and their daughter Devanshi were taken hostage in Benghazi after travelling through the country with the help of a Portugal-based agent.

The family, residents of Badalpura village, had left Ahmedabad for Dubai on November 29 and were subsequently taken to Benghazi, where they were abducted. Solanki said the Chavdas were attempting to join Kismatsinh’s brother, who is settled in Portugal.

“The family was travelling with the intention to settle there, and the agents involved in the case are not Indians,” he said.

The kidnappers have contacted the family’s relatives in Mehsana, demanding Rs 2 crore for their release. Mehsana Collector SK Prajapati said the victims’ kin approached him on Friday, following which he informed the state government and the Ministry of External Affairs. Authorities are coordinating with central agencies as efforts to trace the family and secure their safe return continue.

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