Kidnapped oil company employees appealed to Bihar Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar and Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to step up the efforts to release them from their abductors in a video message from an undisclosed location.
It has been almost a month since a team of suspected ULFA(I) and NSCN rebels kidnapped Paran Kumar Gogoi (51) and Ram Kumar (35), employees of Quippo Oil and Gas Infrastructure Company from a drilling site near Innao in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh.
On December 21, armed militants kidnapped employees of the private company from the drilling site belonging to Oil India Limited (OIL). While Gogoi worked as a drilling supervisor, Kumar worked as a radio operator for Quippo which is the drilling operator for Oil India wells in Innao area of Changlang district.
“It has been one month since we were kidnapped by ULFA(I) and NSCN which are in conflict with our company. I appeal to the Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to talk to Assam Chief Minister to secure my release from my captors,” said Ram Kumar in the video message. Gogoi made a similar appeal to the Assam Chief Minister. According to sources, the captors have placed a ransom amount of Rs. 20 crores on each of the kidnapped employees.
Also Read: Drilling superintendent, radio operator of oil company abducted in Arunachal Pradesh
Meanwhile, a company official from Quippo said that appeals to step up their rescue operations have been made to the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. “We had written to the Prime Minister, Home Minister, Defence Minister, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Indian Army and Police heads of both Assam and Arunachal Pradesh to secure the release of our kidnapped employees. Our Chief Financial Officer, Somya Srikanth has been in talks with the militant outfit,” said the official.
Kumar hails from Bahadurpur village in Khagaria district of Bihar and Gogoi is from Sivasagar district, the Quippo representative said. “Kumar’s wife, Veena has been calling our office in Gurgaon every day while Gogoi’s family also appealed to Arunachal and Assam police,” the official said.
Superintendent of Police, Mihin Gambo said that the Army and Police are conducting combing operations . “We are hopeful that soon we will make a breakthrough and secure the release of employees from their captors,” said Gambo.
Hironmay Moran from Tinsukia contributed to the story
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