TURA: A ginger merchant from Assam who was abducted at gunpoint by a gang of criminals in East Garo Hills has been released unharmed on Wednesday after the kidnappers panicked on hearing of police and villagers launching multiple search operations throughout the area and the arrest of one person from Rongsak who apparently had links to the group and was aware of their abduction plans.
The 37 year old Tapos Dey (earlier identified mistakenly as Maji) was abandoned in a jungle area around Bansamgre late Tuesday night as news reached them that information had already been passed on to different villages to remain alert about a gang holding a trader captive.
With police commandos already on a search deep in the forests, the kidnappers panicked.
According to the victim who narrated his tale of ordeal, four members of the gang fled the hideout leaving behind just one member with a pistol to keep a watch on him.
As dusk fell, the last remaining gang member also decided to flee by calling up another member on cell phone who soon arrived on the scene on a motorcycle to take him away.
The gang, however, did not leave empty handed as they took away seventy thousand rupees from the trader which was to be used for ginger purchase.
The ginger trader gradually made his way in the dark through the jungle before arriving at a house in Bansamgre village where a villager gave him shelter and a place to sleep for the night. Police escorted him safely to Williamnagar in the morning.
The trader was on his way to Rongsak village market on Tuesday when motorcycle borne criminals waylaid his Mahindra pik up mini truck at Bansam Awe and took him away.
Following the abduction, police quickly zeroed in on a suspect identified as Salsrang alias Mogo of Rongsak village.
According to police, Mogo reportedly confessed during questioning that he was aware of the plan to kidnap and also revealed the names of the kidnappers which has given police substantial evidence and the identification of the criminals behind the incident.
