Assam Police have successfully rescued three quarry site employees who were abducted by an unidentified armed group within a span of 48 hours.
Sources indicate that the trio, comprising Raju Toti, Amit Orang, and Biswa Dharak, was successfully rescued from a deep jungle along the Cachar-Dima Hasao border during a late-night operation at approximately 3 am on Monday.
Despite the successful rescue, the alleged kidnappers managed to evade apprehension. The rescued individuals held critical roles as two of them operated backhoe loaders, while the third was the driver of a dumper, all employed at the quarry.
The incident was reported on Saturday when the gunmen fired a few rounds in the air after entering the quarry as the labourers were loading the mined stone onto trucks. This caused the situation to turn chaotic with labourers rushing to save their lives.
In the ongoing mayhem, the miscreants abducted the three drivers at gunpoint and fled from the scene. Witnesses mentioned seeing them take the hostages deep into the jungles.
Soon after the incident, the local police was informed and they rushed to the site. An investigation was initiated into the matter and a search operation was launched to locate the kidnappers.
The officials present at the scene informed that two of the abducted drivers were residents of nearby Udarbond, which falls in the Cachar district, while the third is a resident of Aina Chara area.
The nature of the crime has turned the heads of the police towards militant organisations. Officials are primarily suspecting the involvement of any banned insurgent group in the kidnapping of the drivers, however, they are keeping all angles open.
Furthermore, sources said that the kidnapping of the drivers today comes amid a rise in similar incidents where armed groups have abducting employees at the quarry, which largely go unreported.
No militant organisation has come forward to claim responsibility for the incident.
