Dubai: The family of an Indian worker kidnapped in Oman two days ago has received ransom calls demanding a huge amount for his release, according to a media report on Saturday. The man, identified only as Haneefa from Kerala, went missing two days ago when he had gone to meet some friends in Sohar city, about 200 km north of Muscat. Later, his family reportedly received phone calls from Oman by "Urdu-speaking people" demanding money in return for his release.

"We were thinking that he had gone to meet some friends but later on we learned that his family in Kerala and his brother-in-law in Saudi Arabia had received phone calls. Then we realised he may have been abducted," Haneefa's friends and fellow workers said. According to Haneefa's family, the callers were demanding ransom for his release. "They were calling from Internet phones. Later, when we stopped receiving those calls, we discovered they had pressured Haneefa to make calls from his own number," his family said.

The family said initially the callers were demanding OMR 2,000 ($ 5,201) within 24 hours for his release, but later the demands were changed. "Now they are demanding a huge amount to be deposited in another Asian country. We have filed a case with the local police station here and the Indian embassy in Muscat has also been informed about this," his family members said. Meanwhile, a social worker in close contact with police officials in Sohar said the police had made a breakthrough in the case. "They will crack the case soon. They told me that they have some leads," he added.