By Our Reporter
TURA: Two top contractors from West Garo Hills district — Abdul Rashid of Rajabala and Dipok Saha of Dalu — who were kidnapped by armed men suspected to belong to the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) have been released at two separate locations during the last 24 hours.
While one of them was released in the inter-state border with Assam, the other victim was freed not far from his place of abduction.
Rashid was released unharmed at Paikan tri-junction in the inter-state Meghalaya-Assam border, 100 kms from Tura, on Thursday evening shortly after 4:30 pm.
In a strange twist to the other kidnapping saga of the coal merchant cum top Public Health Engineering Department (PHE) contractor, Dipok Saha, who was kidnapped from Kherapara village, 27 kms from Tura, on route to his home town in Dalu on Tuesday night, he was released early Friday morning at a deserted road.
The GNLA militants who took him away at gunpoint from Kherapara released him 15 kms away at Karonggre village road, approximately 7 kms from Barengapara sub-division town at 4:30 am of Friday morning.
Police sources indicate that the first class contractor whose elder brother runs a successful coal export business into neighboring Bangladesh may have been mistakenly picked up by the ultras.
Police sources indicate that the family allegedly paid the outfit their demand for extortion money some time ago and the contractor was mistakenly kidnapped by the local area commander, Bate Marak alias Baichung Momin leading to his prompt release.
Section 144 CrPC: In the meantime, administration from the three districts of Garo Hills have promulgated Section 144 CrPC in view of the three-day 5 am to 5 pm Garo Hills bandh called by the GNLA beginning on Monday morning.
The security apparatus have been put in top gear in the three districts of Garo Hills and special focus has been laid in Tura — the most important town after Shillong. Cordon and search operations coupled with frisking of passengers and checking of vehicles have begun in and around the town to prevent any untoward incident.
The GNLA outfit has announced a dawn-to-dusk shutdown on three days to demand that the ongoing Meghalaya Assembly session raise the issue of secret killings allegedly perpetrated by another Garo militant outfit ANVC which is currently on a ceasefire with the Central and State governments.