Centre claims no ransom paid in the rescue of Fr Tom Uzhunnalil

Centre today said no ransom amount was paid to kidnappers It was reported Rs 64 crore was paid as ransom to the ISIS The priest was released following the intervention of the government of Oman

Contrary to media reports the Centre today said no ransom amount was paid to kidnappers for the release of Father Tom Uzhunnalil and underlined that the Ministry of External Affairs "works quietly without noise, but ultimately gets the work done".

"Release of Father Uzhunnalil yesterday underlines one thing that the Ministry of External Affairs works quietly and without noise, but ultimately gets the work done," Union Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh told a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram.

The Union minister said "no" when asked whether any ransom was paid for the release of the priest. A day ago it was reported that the priest was released following the intervention of the government of Oman.

The priest belongs to Salesians of Don Bosco’s Bengaluru province. He had been working as a missionary under Bishop Paul Hinder, apostolic vicar of Southern Arabia. He hails from Kottayam.

The efforts to rescue the priest had been going on for quite some time. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had promised that no effort would be spared to secure the release of the priest.

with PTI inputs