Assam police rescue three quarry employees from armed kidnappers

The Assam Police have successfully rescued three quarry employees who were kidnapped by an unidentified armed group within a period of 48 hours.

Sources indicate that the trio, comprising Raju Toti, Amit Orang and Biswa Dharak, were successfully rescued from deep jungle along the Cachar-Dima Hasao border during a night operation at about 3 am on Monday.

Despite the success of the rescue, the alleged kidnappers managed to evade attention. The rescued individuals performed critical roles, as two of them operated backhoes, while the third was a dump truck driver, all employed at the quarry.

The incident was reported on Saturday when gunmen fired several shots into the air after entering the quarry while workers were loading the quarried stone into trucks. This caused the situation to become chaotic with workers scrambling to save their lives.

In the ongoing chaos, the criminals abducted the three drivers at gunpoint and fled the scene. Witnesses mentioned seeing them take the hostages in the jungles.

Soon after the incident, the local police were informed and rushed to the spot. An investigation has been opened and a search operation has been launched to locate the kidnappers.

Officials present at the scene reported that two of the abducted drivers were residents of nearby Udarbond, which is in Cachar district, while the third is a resident of Aina Chara area.

The nature of the crime has turned police chiefs towards militant organisations. Officials mainly suspect the involvement of any banned insurgent group in the kidnapping of the drivers, but are keeping all angles open.

The sources also said today’s abduction of the drivers comes amid an increase in similar incidents in which armed groups have abducted quarry employees, which go largely unreported.

No militant organization has come forward to claim responsibility for the incident.