KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 17"We are hopeful that Bipin is alive and will be back home safely," said Bipin's cousin brother Basu Dev Joshi.Twenty-three-year old Bipin is a permanent resident of Bhimdatta-3, Kanchanpur.He has been taken hostage by Hamas after a sudden attack on Israel, according to his friends and international media. Bipin is the only son of government teachers Mahanand Joshi and Padma Joshi.

He also has a sister, Pushpa Joshi.

All of his family members encouraged Bipin to go to Israel where he could learn as well as earn as the programme states.However, after just a month in Israel, the deadly war broke out between Israel and Palestine, taking the lives of many civilians and innocent people.

Nepalis students under the programme were trapped in bunkers.

The government has already rescued 253 students.But Bipin is untraceable and information has appeared that he has been taken hostage by Hamas.Talking to THT, Basu Dev Joshi, cousin brother of Bipin said, " Bipin's friends informed us that he had been taken hostage.

Similarly, various international channels have claimed that Bipin is in the possession of Hamas.But none of the government agencies have given us information regarding his exact situation.""Two grenades were thrown into his room.

He threw the grenade out and saved the lives of 17 people, including six of them from the bunker.

If he had notthrown a grenade, we would not have been alive," said Bibhusha Adhikari, a friend of Bipin."We have reached out to multiple national and international organisations such as National Human Rights Commission and Amnesty International, but nothing seems to be moving, despite their genuine efforts," said Basu Dev Joshi."Bipin is an extraordinary student.

He writes poems, stories and raps.

He also runs a YouTube channel where he uploads his study materials.

Overall, he is a very spiritual person."He further said,"The situation of his family is very critical.Father and mother are government teachers, however, they have not been able to go to work.

Relatives, Bipin's friends and we console them frequently hoping for his return."The government has already done a commendable task by bringing back 253 stranded students from Israel, but if it fails to bring Bipin to Nepal, it will not give a good message.

Israeli ambassador to Nepal Hanan Goder told THT 'Bipin is a hero!' "I have met him twice.We must do everything possible to bring him back," ambassador Goder told THT."I was very impressed by his goodwill and ambition.People like him are the future of Nepal.

However, we don't have any concrete information in relation to Bipin Joshi." Basu Dev Joshi also said, "A few reputed media are looking for cheap popularity by disseminating fake and unauthorised information.Please inform them through your paper to stop such activities."​​​​​​​A version of this article appears in the print on October 17, 2023, of The Himalayan Times .

This article first appeared/also appeared in https://thehimalayantimes.com