Alappuzha: Akhil Raghu's family in Kayamkulam is in deep distress as he, a native of Awur, has been held hostage by Houthi rebels for the past two months. His wife Jitina is a medical student in Kiev and the family has been informed that she had sought refuge in a bunker after the war broke out in Ukraine.
Jithina, a native of Ramapuram, got married to Akhil on August 29 last year and is final year undergraduate student at Kiev Medical University. As the Russian attack intensified, students including Jitina, took shelter in bunkers.

Akhil is an employee of Rawabi, a ship owned by a Livamarine company in UAE. The ship was hijacked by Houthi rebels on December 31 in Red Sea. His brother Rahul said that the ship and crew had been held hostage by Houthi rebels for the past two months.

The ship has 14 crew members, six of them being Indians. Though it is learned that Akhil is safe, Rahul stated that no action has been taken to secure their release for the past two months. The family alleged that despite appeals to Union ministers, MPs and MLAs for Akhil's release, no action has been taken to rescue him so far.