Abducted labourers released after 13 days

Staff Reporter

PUMAO, 13 Feb: Labourers Hiren Konch (31) and Ramashis Mahato (35), who were abducted by operatives of the NSCN (K-YA) outfit on 31 January from Pumao circle of Longding district, were released on Saturday night.

Longding DSP B Tangjang on Sunday informed that a police team received Konch and Mahato at the Indo-Myanmar border and brought them back to Longding.

“We have handed them both over to their respective families and by now they have reached their homes in Assam. Both of them were unharmed and in good health,” the DSP said.

According to the police, the kidnappers reportedly took the duo to the NSCN (K-YA)’s training centre in Khamoi in Nagaland.

Their release came after 13 days of relentless parleys with the outfit carried out by the authorities.

Konch is from Assam and Mahato is from Bihar. Both are excavator drivers who were abducted by the UG outfit while they were engaged in PMGSY road construction between Longkhaw and Pumao villages in Longding district.

The UG outfit had earlier demanded a ransom of Rs 4 crores for the duo’s release.