Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 5 Mar: The whereabouts of the two kidnapped Quippo Oil and Gas Infrastructure Limited employees – radio operator Ram Kumar from Bihar and drilling superintendent Pranab Kumar Gogoi from Assam – remain untraceable even after three months after they were kidnapped by the United Liberation Front of Asom (I) on 21 December last year.
They were kidnapped from Kumchai Hka in Diyun circle of Changlang district by the ULFA (I) and the NSCN, and taken to Myanmar.
On 29 January, the ULFA (I) released two recorded videos in which the kidnapped employees are seen appealing to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to secure their release.
On 16 February, the ULFA (I) set a deadline for payment of ransom, which is reported to be between Rs 10 and 20 crores. It threatened to kill Ram Kumar first if the negotiation failed. However, the ULFA (I) later opened the door for negotiation on the ransom by extending its deadline indefinitely.
When contacted by The Arunachal Times, Changlang SP Mihin Gambo said that the kidnapped employees have not been released, and that their location remains unknown.
