It was the end for a wait that lasted 14 excruciating months. Kollara Veetil Biju, who was abducted by terrorists in the Philippines, arrived back at his native place in Koyilandy on Sunday.
Biju was abducted by Abu Sayyaf militants in the Sulu province of Philippines in June 2011 when he was visiting his wife’s house there and escaped from their custody on August 10,2012.
He landed in Mumbai earlier on Sunday and then took the flight to Karipur. He was received at the airport by a group comprising his brother K V Shybu, close relatives, Koyilandy MLA K Dasan, panchayat president Jeevanandan Master and Pappan Moodadi, convener of the action committee that had been working to secure Biju’s release.
Biju was accorded a reception at the airport and another when he reached Palakkulam, about half-a-kilometre away from his home.
Biju, along with his wife Elena and his children Arjun and Ajay, was forced to disembark from their vehicle there and was escorted home by jubilant locals who celebrated the occasion with much fanfare.
And it made for an emotional sight when Biju, upon seeing his parents who were waiting for him at the gate, failed to control himself and ran into their arms.
Biju had been working at a garment factory in Kuwait since 2002 and he was abducted from Philippines when he was visiting his wife’s family by militants from the Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group. They had held him captive in the jungles of the Sulu area demanding ransom in exchange for his release.
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