An international criminal network involved in human trafficking kidnapped two Indian citizens in Azerbaijan, tortured them on a live stream, and sent the video footage to their relatives.

The police of India and Azerbaijan have launched a joint operation to arrest the criminals and free the hostages, The Caspian Post reports, citing Indian media.

According to available information, two young residents of the village of Kantaria in the Anand district of Gujarat state-22-year-old Dhruv Patel and 32-year-old Deepika Patel-decided to immigrate illegally to the United States via the so-called "donkey route" (a term used in India to describe a complex transit chain through third countries, organized and controlled by criminal intermediaries). For these services, Dhruv paid an agent from Mumbai around 35 lakh rupees (approximately 38,000 dollars), while Deepika paid about 15 lakh rupees.

The journey began on January 30, 2026: from Anand, they traveled to Vadodara, then to Delhi, from where they flew to Baku, arriving in the capital of Azerbaijan on February 1. Immediately after their arrival, the agent instructed them to turn off their phones, and soon after, a local intermediary demanded additional money from them and prohibited sending funds to the Mumbai agent. When Dhruv and Deepika refused, they were kidnapped and taken to a house on the outskirts of Baku.

In the basement of the building, the criminals brutally beat Dhruv, and the video of the torture was sent via WhatsApp to his family in India with a warning: if the ransom was not paid, the kidnappers would remove and sell Dhruv's kidneys. The relatives managed to raise around 65 lakh rupees, part of which was transferred in cryptocurrency, but the bandits' demands continued.

Desperate, the families of the kidnapped contacted Gujarat state MP Mitesh Patel, who reached out to India's Minister of External Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. Upon his instructions, the Indian Embassy in Baku urgently got involved in the case and notified the Azerbaijani authorities. Within 24 hours, a joint police operation was conducted, during which the hostages were found and freed alive.

Currently, Dhruv and Deepika are under the protection of the Indian Embassy, and legal procedures are underway for their return to India. MP Patel called the incident highly alarming and warned Indian youth against cooperating with organizers of illegal migration.

The police investigation revealed that the kidnappers are linked to a gang led by a man named Pavan Roki and an Iranian citizen, Baba Khan. It is believed that this group is involved in numerous similar crimes. The Gujarat police have launched a manhunt for the Mumbai-based agents involved in organizing the illegal route.