From Our Correspondent
TURA: Two motorcycle borne suspected militants kidnapped the teenage son of a grocery trader from the Assam side of Mendipather town adjoining North Garo Hills district on Monday night to demand ransom from the father.
The miscreants arrived at the doorstep of the home of the grocery store owner at around 8 pm and demanded that 17-year-old Abdul Hussain accompany them.
When the father tried to resist the men whipped out pistols and threatened the family and forcibly took the teenager away with them towards the Garo Hills side of Mendipather.
His whereabouts remain unknown but police sources reveal that the father had previously been targeted for extortion. Sometime during the beginning of the year, unknown persons had called up the trader demanding a hefty sum of money as ‘tax’ but he had resisted the move.
Police on the Assam side as well as Meghalaya have been conducting several raids following the incident and prime suspects remain militants belonging to Garo outfits operating from the Garo Hills region.
The banned GNLA and the ANVC-B besides dacoit gangs and recently formed United A’chik Liberation Army (UALA) are said to operate in the area, police sources informed.
