ITANAGAR, 27 Apr: Unidentified gunmen on Wednesday kidnapped an employee of the Bharat Petroleum fuel depot in Momong in Chowkham circle of Namsai district and another was shot at.
According to SP Dr DW Thungon, the incident occurred at 7:20 pm, as seen on the CCTV footage in which three gunmen with assault rifles are seen entering the depot premises and taking away its cashier Dinesh Sharma.
“In the incident, JCB driver Mithoi Mardi was shot at by the assailants while they were on their way back after kidnapping the staffer. Mardi was rushed to the CHC in Chowkham, and then to Dibrugarh (Assm), where he underwent a surgery on Thursday,” the SP said, adding that Mardi’s condition is stated to be stable.
Mardi’s helper, Ilyas Soren, was also manhandled by the culprits, using rifle butts. However, he did not sustain any grievous injury.
The SP said that the assailants might belong to some militant group by the way they carried themselves, but it could not be ascertained which group they belong to. “No group has claimed to be involved in the incident as yet,” he added.
When asked if there has been any demand for ransom, the SP informed that “the culprits, while they were taking away the cashier, asked the three other employees at the petrol depot to inform their owner to arrange Rs 5 crore as ransom.”
The Namsai police and the Assam Rifles have sealed all exit routes in the district, and have put up naka points. Jungle areas are also being combed to look out for them.
“There has been no lead so far. We have also arranged our sources,” the SP said.
