Abducted Quippo employees appeal to Assam and Bihar CMs to secure their early release

Staff Reporter

ITANAGAR, 20 Jan: A video of the two abducted employees of the Quippo Oil and Gas Infrastructure Limited was released on Wednesday by the ULFA (I), showing the employees appealing to the chief ministers of Assam and Bihar to secure their early release.

The video comes nearly a month after radio operator Ram Kumar and drilling superintendent Pranab Kumar Gogoi were kidnapped by armed militants on 21 December from Kumchai Hka in Diyun circle of Changlang district.

Earlier, on 12 January, the ULFA (I) claimed responsibility for the abduction.

In the video, which was released from an undisclosed location, Ram Kumar states that he is a resident of Bahadurpur in Khagaria district of Bihar.

“It’s been a month since I have been kidnapped by the ULFA (I) and the NSCN (IM) due to my association with the Quippo Oil and Gas Infrastructure Limited. Therefore, I appeal to Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar to talk to his Assam counterpart to secure my release.”

Pranab Kumar Gogoi, who hails from Sivasagar district of Assam, also made a similar appeal to the Assam chief minister.

“It’s been a month now and the company is yet to make any progress regarding my release. I appeal to the company to talk to both the ULFA (I) and the NSCN (IM) to ensure my early release and at the same time, I also appeal to the chief minister of Assam Sarbananda Sonowal to speak with the Quippo Oil and Gas Infrastructure Limited authorities to ensure that the company is bound to step up its efforts for our release.”

Meanwhile, Changlang SP Mihin Gambo, speaking to this daily, informed that both the police and the army have been deployed at all possible locations and combing operations are on.

“Our efforts are on and we are hopeful that we will make a breakthrough soon to secure the release of both the employees,” he said.