The Indian Army and Assam Rifles rescued two of three state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) in Mon district who were allegedly abducted by “unknown armed miscreants” in Assam early on Wednesday. The operation is underway to trace the third ONGC employee.
The police recovered one AK 47 from the area.
The abducted ONGC employees, including two Junior Engineer Assistants (Production) and one Junior Technician (Production), were taken by a group of armed militants in an operational vehicle that belongs to ONGC.
The abducted employees were identified as Mohini Mohan Gogoi, Ritul Saikia, and Alakesh Saikia.
In the operation that began in Mon, Nagaland last night, Gogoi and Alakesh Saikia were rescued
According to a report by The Indian Express, police suspect that the militant group United Liberation Front of Assam was behind the kidnapping.
“The abducted employees were taken by the miscreants in an operational vehicle belonging to ONGC,” the company tweeted. “Later, the vehicle was found abandoned near the Nimonagarh jungles close to the Assam-Nagaland border. A complaint has been lodged by ONGC with the local police.”
News agency PTI reported that three men were whisked away in an ambulance. And there is specific information that the kidnapping was carried out by ULFA(I) under the command of its self-styled major Ganesh Lahon @ Purna Lahon and his accomplices Aidyaman Asom @ Moniram Borgohain and Pradip Gogoi @ Akon, an Assam, a police release said.
The Assam police have arrested 14 ULFA(I) linkmen and sympathizers who had allegedly helped the banned outfit directly or indirectly.