From Our Correspondent
JOWAI: In a bid to bust a kidnapping racket and premeditated killing spree for ransom, the East Jaintia Hills Police have arrested a group of seven kidnappers and recovered the body of a victim from inside a cave.
However, two more including a student of Good Shepherd Secondary School, Ladrymbai and a minor girl, who were kidnapped recenly, still remain untraced.
A four-year-old girl identified as Iammi Pakma was kidnapped on April 2 following which her father, Skot Mukhim of Ladrymbai, received a phone call demanding Rs 30 lakh as ransom for the release of his daughter.
Police arrested one Deibor Sutnga along with his accomplice, who is a coal mine supervisor from Assam’s Mynthlu and Byndihati village respectively for allegedly abducting the minor girl.
Despite the arrests, the minor girl remained untraced as the accused, who confessed to the crime, could not provide accurate information on the whereabouts of the four-year-old girl.
Interestingly, the father of the girl is a daily wage earner and his income varies from Rs 3000 to Rs 4000 per month.
On May 4, an 18-year-old boy, Krishna Sah, a student of Good Shepherd Secondary School, Ladrymbai, who is awaiting his SSLC results, was abducted by some unknown miscreants from Ladrymbai Petrol Pump.
The kidnappers called up his father, Mohan Sah, a milkman who hailed from Bihar and demanded Rs. 30 lakh for his safe release.
On May 7, East Jaintia Hills police arrested four persons in this connection. A country-made revolver (.32mm) was also seized from one of the accused, Pradip Thapa (22).
The other three accused are Raj Rai (27), Morbu Lama (26) and Biju Rai (21). Sources informed that the fifth accused is still absconding.
However, despite the arrests, Sah remains untraced.
Meanwhile, in a major breakthrough, the East Jaintia Hills police arrested seven members of a gang involved in killing and kidnapping many people in the district.
Police also recovered a highly decomposed body of a coal trader, Bhanwarlal Yadav, who hailed from Rajasthan.
One of the seven arrested kidnappers led the police inside the cave and retrieved the decomposed body on August 15.