Kolkata: It was an agonising 17-hour wait for the parents of Puspendu Ghosh, who was trapped by a gunman in the hostage drama at the Lindt Chocolate Cafe in Sydney Monday.

"At around 8.15 a.m. Monday I was told by one of his colleagues that my son was in the cafe when the gunman took hostage those inside. He told me to watch the news on television, and said they were in touch with the police in Sidney," said Puspendu's father Pushpal Kumar Ghosh.