Libya’s parliament-backed government has rubbished claims that an Indian family was kidnapped in the country. Instead, they say they’ve wrapped up all plans to safely send the family back home to India after catching them trying to sneak into Europe the wrong way.
In a statement put out on Monday, 22nd December, Libya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation hit back at stories in the media and on social media about the family being snatched. They called those reports totally baseless and wrong. The ministry made it clear that no kidnapping happened at all.
Libya says it repatriated the Indian family who was going to Europe via 'irregular migration'. Points no 'kidnapping' took place. pic.twitter.com/ksruFg3F8D
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) December 23, 2025
According to the ministry, security guards stopped the Indian family while they were using Libya just as a pit stop to slip into Europe illegally. Everything was done by the book, following Libya‘s rules on migration cases. While they were held, a local Libyan family took care of them, giving them a place to stay and basic help until the paperwork was sorted. The government stressed that the family was treated well, sticking to Libyan laws and global standards.
The ministry worked hand-in-hand with security teams to fix their status and handle all the legal and travel stuff for sending them back. The whole return trip is happening safely and smoothly, with the family’s safety front and centre.
Initial kidnapping buzz in India
The clarification comes days after reports in India around 13th December, when news broke that a couple from Gujarat and their little 3-year-old daughter had been kidnapped in Libya.
According to media reports, kidnappers were holding Kismatsinh Chavda, his wife Heenaben, and their kid Devanshi from Badalpura village in Mehsana district of Gujarat. They were on their way to Portugal, where Kismatsinh’s brother lives, and the kidnappers were demanding a whopping ₹2 crore ransom.
Family back home got a call from the kidnappers asking for the money, so they rushed to local officials like Mehsana’s Collector SK Prajapati and Superintendent of Police Himanshu Solanki. The police said the family flew out from Ahmedabad to Dubai on 29th November, then headed to Benghazi in Libya.
That’s where things went off before they could hop to their next spot. They were travelling with help from a Portugal-based agent, not an Indian one, hoping to settle down in Europe for their well-being.
The Libyan government didn’t stop at clearing the rumours. They told media and social media users to get their facts straight and stick to the official word when talking about Libya stuff. Spreading unchecked info, they said, just confuses people and hurts Libya’s rep overseas.
