TURA: A 63-year-old businessman from Lakhipur village of Assam who was abducted by a gang of criminals and brought into Garo Hills has been successfully rescued by a joint team of Assam and Meghalaya police on Friday. Six gang members have also been arrested.
The rescue came a day after another Assam trader from the town of Krishnai was released by his captors after villagers gave them a chase when they tried to bring their hostage into Garo Hills territory for confinement.
The latest incident involves a local businessman from Lakhipur town near Goalpara. The victim, Md. Sukur Ali of Lakhipur town was on his way to the local Masjid for prayers on December 2ndwhen the kidnappers waylaid him and took him away. They had demanded a hefty sum from the victim’s family for his safe release.
The rescue operation was launched after Assam police nabbed one of the culprits in their state. The arrested criminal revealed the names of the other members and confessed that theirs was an inter-state gang comprising of criminals from both Assam and Garo Hills. He later led a joint Assam and Garo Hills police to Bajengdobna region of North Garo Hills where the victim was being kept.
Police swooped down on the village of Mansinggre Rongnak under Bajengdoba police station and intercepted the criminals who tried to flee. A few rounds were fired in the air to deter the gang resulting in four of them giving themselves up.
The four arrested criminals, all hailing from Mansinggre village, have been identified as Jandal Ch Sangma (20), Julius Ch Sangma (21), Brendil R Marak (22), and Sangna A Sangma (18). Another member from Assam was also arrested on the same day bringing the total number of criminals under custody to six.
Police also recovered two country-made pistols and 9 rounds of ammunition along with mobile phones and documents from the gang.
The sudden spurt in abductions involving inter-state border gangs is a worrying sign for many since there have been cases in the past when kidnappers have gotten away with their crime by taking advantage of the border between the two states.