NSCN (K) abducts village chief, gaon bura from Longding district of Arunachal Pradesh

 OUR CORRESPONDENT

ITANAGAR: Militants of the Ang Mai faction of the NSCN-K abducted a village chief and a gaon bura (village headman) from Longding district of Arunachal Pradesh, a police official from the district said on Thursday. About 15 rebels of the outfit came to Chop Village in the district at around 8.30 PM on Tuesday night and abducted the duo, Londing deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Banghang Tangjang said. The abducted persons were identified as Chijgsan Wangham, the village chief, and Chopkhu Gangsa, he said. The militants took them towards Longpa village in Myanmar, Tangjang said, adding that the duo were allegedly abducted for not paying house tax to the tune of Rs 50,000 for many years.

District police and Assam Rifles have launched a massive search operation to trace the abducted persons, he added. This is the second incident of abduction in the district this month after NSCN-KYA militants kidnapped two employees of a private construction firm. On November 16, Shashank Yadav, a junior engineer, and Liamgao Pansa, a supervisor of a construction company, were kidnapped by three armed militants of the outfit from a camp near the Tisa river between Pongchau and Konnu village in Longding district. They were working on a BRTF project with a contractor. However, both were released on November 28.

Though it is suspected that the motive behind the kidnapping was extortion, it has not been confirmed whether any ransom was paid for their safe release. The kidnapping was reportedly carried out by self-styled Lt Col Botai Wangsu and self-styled Lt Abojak Wangnow of the outfit, police said. On October 29 this year, two brothers, Katwang Wangham, a village village chief, and Wangtai Wangsu of Kamhua Noksa village in Longding district, were kidnapped by the NSCN (K-YA) faction. The outfit had demanded Rs 60 lakh to secure their safe release. Nearly two weeks after being held captive, the two were finally released on November 9. However, it is not clear whether the payment of the ransom facilitated their release.

Also Read:   NSCN (K) operatives arrested with drugs in Arunachal Pradesh

Also Watch: