Bihar engineer goes missing in Iran amid military conflict, family appeals to Indian govt for safe return

New Delhi, June 23 (IANS) A young engineer from Bihar's Siwan has gone missing in Iran amid the Gulf country's ongoing conflict with Israel.

The missing youth has been identified as Siraj Ali Ansari (25), a resident of Ramapali village in the Muffasil police station area.

He works as a Quality Control Engineer in a petroleum company and was posted in Iran at the time of his disappearance.

Talking to IANS, his father Hazrat Ali said that Siraj had travelled to Saudi Arabia and reached Iran from there on June 9.

However, shortly after his arrival, tensions between Iran and Israel escalated into a conflict.

The last communication from Siraj came on the afternoon of June 17, around 2 p.m., when he spoke to his father, Hazrat Ali.

Since then, Siraj's phone has been switched off and there has been no contact.

"When we last spoke, he told me he was in a safe place, but there were bombings just one kilometre from where he was staying,” said Hazrat Ali.

"We are extremely worried. There has been no word from him since that day."

Distressed by Siraj's disappearance, the family submitted a written appeal to the Siwan District Magistrate Aditya Prakash, requesting urgent intervention by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian government to ensure Siraj's safe return.

His uncles, Shakeel Ahmad Ansari and Akhtar Ali Ansari, have also joined in appealing for government assistance.

"I am going to meet the District Magistrate today," Hazrat Ali added.

"My humble request to the Indian government and the Ministry of External Affairs is to evacuate my son and all other Indians who are currently stranded in the conflict zone."

Siraj is unmarried and the eldest among two brothers and one sister.

His disappearance has left his entire family deeply anxious.

As the Iran-Israel conflict continues to intensify, families of Indians working in the region are growing increasingly concerned for the safety of their loved ones.

As part of the ongoing Operation Sindhu, another batch of 285 nationals safely landed here on Sunday evening, taking the total number of Indians evacuated from Iran to 1,713.

--IANS

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