TURA: Three vegetable traders from Assam, who were abducted by armed men from the Ampati-Salmanpara road of South West Garo Hills, were rescued by police on Sunday morning.
The three men, all hailing from Jordanga village of Mankachar in South Salmara district, disappeared on the intervening night of February 5 and 6.
Their families came to know of their abduction only on Saturday when the kidnappers called and sought ransom. Police quickly launched operations leading to the recovery of the three-wheeler tempo vehicle used by the traders which had been abandoned in an isolated jungle area on the same Salmanpara-Ampati road.
On Sunday morning, during the combing operations, one of the police search teams was reportedly spotted by the victims who broke free and escaped. “We had launched an operation in the forests near Wadagre area just behind Salmanpara which compelled the kidnappers to move their victims. They were trying to take them towards another isolated area in Chiringpara when they spotted one of our police vehicles at some distance. Taking advantage, the three victims broke free from the kidnappers and escaped while the criminals fled. We are in hot pursuit of the group,” informed district police chief Rituraj Ravi.
According to the police chief, the gang comprising of ten members were a mixed group of locals and non-tribals.
The gang is believed to be in possession of toy guns and machetes.
The three rescued men, Masidul Islam (24), Bipul Miah (24) and Aptar Hussian (18), were reunited with their families on Sunday itself.
