Abduction on rise in Longding
ITANAGAR, 30 Nov: The Ang Mai faction of the NSCN (K) has abducted a village chief and a gaon bura from Longding district for not paying levy to the militant outfit, police said on Thursday.
Around 15 militants descended to Chop village at around 8:30 pm on Tuesday and abducted the two persons, identified as village headman Chopkhu Gangsa and village chief Chijgsan Wangham, and took them towards neighbouring Myanmar, Londing Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Banghang Tangjang said.
The militants abducted them as they did not pay a levy of Rs 50,000, he said.
The village headman is an official post, while the village chief is a traditional one.
The police and the Assam Rifles have launched a massive operation to trace and rescue the abducted persons, he said.
This is the second incident of abduction by militants in the district this month, with NSCN (K-YA) rebels having kidnapped two employees of a private construction firm on 16 November.
Shashank Yadav, a junior engineer, and Liamgao Pansa, a supervisor of a construction firm, were kidnapped by three armed militants of the NSCN (K-YA) from a camp near the Tisa river between Pongchau and Konnu villages in Longding district on 16 November. They were working under a contractor for a BRTF project.
However, both were released on 28 November.
Though it had been suspected that the motive behind the kidnapping was ransom, it has not been confirmed whether any amount had been paid for their safe release.
On 29 October, two brothers – Katwang Wangham (village chief) and Wangtai Wangsu, of Kamhua Noksa village – in the district were kidnapped by militants belonging to the NSCN (K-YA) faction, which had demanded Rs 60 lakhs as ransom for their safe release.
After nearly two weeks in captivity, the duo was released on 9 November. However, it has not been clear whether the ransom amount had been paid for their release. (PTI)
