A CORRESPONDENT
JORHAT: Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday visited the residence of abducted ONGC employee Ritul Saikia at Titabor in Jorhat district and met his family members.
While interacting with his parents and wife, Sarma informed that all-out effort was being made to bring back Saikia safely. Ritul Saikia was abducted by ULFA (I) cadres along with two other ONGC employees from a Romanian work-over rig of ONGC at Lakwa in Sivasagar district on April 21, 2021, and is yet to be rescued. The two others were rescued within a week by Army from Mon district of Nagaland bordering Assam in Sivasagar.
MPs Kamakhya Prasad Tasa, Topon Kumar Gogoi and Pallab Lochan Das and local MLA Bhaskarjyoti Baruah were present during the visit of the Chief Minister. Later talking to media persons, Chief Minister Sarma said, "The government is firmly behind the family in these trying times. We are doing our best to rescue Saikia at the earliest."
The family members of Saikia had met Sarma on May 12 at Majuli to urge him to take steps for the safe release of Ritul.
The Chief Minister said that as per government sources, Ritul Saikia was in the India-Myanmar border and in good health. He said that the State Government was leaving no stone unturned to ensure his safe return.