American, 3 Other Hostages Likely Killed, India Says
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NEW DELHI — An American and three other Westerners kidnapped in the troubled Kashmir region three years ago appear to have been killed, a local news agency quoted an Indian security official as saying Friday.
The comment from E.N. Rammohan, chief of India’s paramilitary Border Security Force, marked the first time a top official publicly expressed doubt that the hostages were alive.
“We have no conclusive evidence to prove that they are dead. But from the circumstances it appears they have been killed a long time back,” Rammohan was quoted by Press Trust of India as saying in New Delhi.
Until now, officials have only said there has been no contact for more than two years with the abductors or those kidnapped.
The hostages are Donald Hutchings of Spokane, Wash.; Dirk Hasert of Germany; and Keith Mangan and Paul Wells, both of England.
A Pakistan-based separatist group, Al Faran, claimed responsibility for the abductions in 1995 and demanded the release of 21 Muslim guerrilla leaders in exchange. The Indian government refused, saying that accepting such a demand would encourage more kidnappings.
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