Abducted GH trader rescued after gun battle

TURA: Garo Hills police on Friday afternoon rescued a businessman who was abducted at gunpoint by five armed men from his home in Chokpot town of South Garo Hills, a day earlier.
The rescue took place after police teams followed the money trail to a place where the ransom was to be handed over and exchanged fire with the armed group.
The identity of the group is yet to be ascertained although police doubt it to be the handiwork of the banned GNLA outfit.
The 36-year-old businessman, Aktar Ali, was asleep at his home in Chokpot town when five armed men dressed in camouflage forced their way in at around 3am early Thursday morning.
The young businessman, who is married to a local, was quickly whisked away by the armed men.
The kidnappers quickly got down to demanding a ransom of twenty lakh rupees for his safe release.
Ali is a successful entrepreneur who runs a car and tyre repairing garage as well as a grill workshop.
After long negotiations, the kidnappers scaled down the ransom to less than two lakh rupees.
The ransom money was to be handed over at a jungle drop zone in Raja Ronggat area, 15 kms from Chokpot, on Friday afternoon.
However, police got whiff of the money trail and after tailing the handover man spotted the group in a jungle area.
“On seeing our police teams the armed men opened fire from small arms forcing our commandos to return fire. During the encounter the kidnappers abandoned Ali and fled. He has been rescued unharmed”, informed South Garo Hills Superintendent of Police Abraham T Sangma.
The rescued businessman was later taken to hospital for a medical checkup.
Police recovered from the encounter site camouflage uniforms and other personal items including empty cartridges.
However, the kidnappers were able to get away with the ransom amount of about one lakh rupees.
The remote South Garo Hills region, once a hot bed for militancy, witnessed a dramatic drop in militant related incidents after large scale surrenders during the early part of this year by the dreaded GNLA rebels who once held sway to this remote forested region.