Assam CM Himanta says abducted ONGC man hidden in Myanmar' by ULFA(I); visits family

In the latest development, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed that militant group ULFA(I) had kept the abducted ONGC employee Ritul Saikia hidden in Myanmar, even as the search for him nears one month. Earlier in April, the Indian Army and Assam Rifles rescued two Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) employees who were earlier abducted from a general area at Mon, on April 21.  As per reports, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma along with MPs Topon Kumar Gogoi, Kamakhya Prasad Tasa, and Pallab Lochan Das, and local MLA Bhaskar Jyoti Baruah visited the abducted ONGC employee Ritul Saikia's home at Titabar in Jorhat district and assured his kin that the state govt was doing everything in its power to secure his release. 

ONGC employees abducted

Earlier, a police constable was arrested in Assam’s Tinsukia district for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping of three ONGC employees from Sivasagar. Two of his colleagues who are suspected to be his associates, are currently absconding, and a search operation to nab them is underway, officials said. The three constables from the 25th Assam Police Battalion, deployed for security at ONGC’s oil rig at Lakwa, had allegedly facilitated the kidnapping of the employees, two of whom were rescued. Constable Basanta Buragohain was held in Tinsukia district's Sadiya, while a team of officers are on the lookout for his colleagues, he added. Assam Director General of Police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta had taken to Twitter to inform that three persons have been held so far for their “direct involvement" in the case. One of them had purchased the motorcycle that was used in the crime, the second person had rendered logistical support, and Buragohai had “actively participated" in the abduction, he tweeted.

The three ONGC employees were allegedly kidnapped by unknown armed miscreants from a rig site of ONGC in Lakwa field of Sivasagar District in the early hours of April 21. ONGC took to its Twitter handle to identify two of the abductees - Junior Engineer Assistants (Production) & a Junior Technician (Production). As per ONGC, the abducted personnel were taken in an operational vehicle which was later found abandoned near the Nimonagarh jungles close to the Assam-Nagaland border.

Two abductees have been rescued by the Indian Army and Assam Rifles while operations are still on find the third abductee. Sources also added that one AK-47 rifle was also recovered during the operations. A senior official of the Sivasagar administration had said that the involvement of the ULFA in the abduction of the three ONGC personnel was suspected and that they had escaped through Nagaland after carrying out the act. The official had revealed that no demands for ransom had been made so far. Sivasagar SP Amitava Sinha spoke to Republic TV that day and informed that the incident had taken place at 1.30 am following which it was reported to the police at 3.30 am. He added that an official complaint had been registered and that the security agencies in Nagaland had also been informed.