Abducted bus driver, helpers released in GH

SHILLONG: A driver and two of his colleagues were on Friday released unharmed at a place near Garobadha in West Garo Hills more than ten days after they were abducted by suspected ASAK militants.
A group of militants on March 14 stopped a bus (ML 08 0313) which was on its way to Purakhasia from Tura and abducted bus driver Nikhil Talukdar, conductor Gurmit Koch and handyman Hojoi Koch from Boldamgre village near Purakhasia, along the India- Bangladesh border.
Initially, the abductors had demanded a ransom of Rs 50 lakh for the trio’s release.
Police said that as per the description of the militants provided by the abducted victims, the kidnap seemed to be the handiwork of ASAK militants.
Police also failed to confirm if any ransom had been paid for the safe release of the trio.   Earlier, the Garo Hills Motor Workers’ Union had served a deadline of three days for the trio’s unconditional release with a threat to halt public transport services in Garo Hills.
The union had also staged a rally at Tura and submitted a memorandum to West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner Pravin Bakshi seeking government support for rescuing the trio. The ultimatum had ended on Friday.