Involvement of ASAK militants suspected
TURA: A staffer of the State Bank of India, Gasuapara branch, has been kidnapped at gunpoint while returning from office on the Barengapara road on Tuesday evening.
The clerical staffer of SBI, Subodh Kumar Mishra, was driving his two-wheeler in the direction of Barengapara town in a convoy of three vehicles when they were intercepted by a group of armed men in black uniforms brandishing automatic weapons at Cherengpara village shortly after 5:30pm.
The branch manager of the Gasuapara branch had narrowly escaped being abducted since his car was the first vehicle in the convoy that passed through the route where the armed militants lay in wait.
The militants stopped the two motorcycles that was following the official’s car and abducted Mishra who happened to be riding the third vehicle. His two colleagues in the second vehicle were also roughed up but managed to escape, bank officials revealed.
While no further information has been forthcoming on the whereabouts of the victim, the militant group ASAK is a prime suspect in the incident.
This is the second abduction of a bank staffer in Garo Hills in the last three months. In June, this year, a kidnappers’ gang abducted Ampati SBI branch manager Arvind Kumar on the Garobadha-Ampati road. He was subsequently rescued unharmed. Meanwhile, the employees of SBI, Garo Hills region have appealed to the kidnappers to release Mishra unconditionally and unharmed at the earliest.
The bank employees of Garo Hills had an emergency meeting in Tura as soon as news of the incident was broken and in unison made the appeal for the unconditional release of their colleague who has been serving the people of Garo Hills in his capacity as a staffer in a remote place like Gasuapara which is close to the international border.
