Bangalore, April 24: The family of Indian engineer Sarang Mohammed Naeem, kidnapped in Afghanistan early this week, has been assured by the Indian authorities that efforts are on to secure his release and that they should not lose hope.

"We have appealed to the Indian embassy in Kabul and their response is positive," a close relative of Naeem's wife Rafat Sultana told IANS from Mumbai Thursday.

Sultana and her children - daughters Ambar, 10, Rumana, 8, and son Mohammad Ali, 2 - are now in Mumbai, her hometown.

"I cannot talk any more on the issue as it is sensitive and the authorities would not like media publicity to undermine the efforts to secure Naeem's release," the relative said, requesting anonymity.

"Rafat (Sultana) is in a state of shock and would not like to talk," the relative said.

The 39-year-old electrical engineer from Karnataka's coastal town of Mangalore was kidnapped Monday by an unidentified group in Herat province of Afghanistan. On Tuesday, Naeem's parents in Mangalore received the news of his kidnapping from Naeem's colleague Sunil Shetty, who told them the company would provide all help to secure their son's release.

Speaking from Mangalore, Naeem's relative Basheer Ahmed Baji said the family has not received any information from the central government about the kidnappers, their demands or about the efforts to secure his release.

"Only the assistant commissioner of Mangalore visited us and assured us that efforts are on to secure Naeem's release," he said.

Naeem's parents, 65-year-old Mohamed Hussain Sarang and 60-year-old Chaand Sultana, are worried and praying for his early and safe release, Basheer said.