ONGC says 3 employees kidnapped from oil rig in Assam's Lakwa

The employees were kidnapped in a company-owned vehicle from ONGC's Lakwa field in Sivasagar District in Assam

Three employees of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) were abducted by unknown armed militants from a rig site in Assam on Wednesday, the company said.

The employees were abducted in a company vehicle from the Lakwa field of Sivasagar district, in Assam.

"3 ONGC employees, 2 Junior Engineer Assistants (Production) & a Junior Technician (Production) have been abducted by unknown armed miscreants in the early hours of 21 April 2021. The abduction took place on a rig site of ONGC in Lakwa field of Sivasagar District," the company said in a tweet.

Whereabouts of the kidnapped employees were not known and kidnappers have not made any contact with the family or the company so far, a source in ONGC said.

"The abducted employees were taken by the miscreants in an operational vehicle belonging to ONGC. Later, the vehicle was found abandoned near the Nimonagarh jungles close to the Assam-Nagaland border," ONGC said in another tweet. "A complaint has been lodged by ONGC with the local police."

ONGC has been exploring and producing oil and gas in the Upper Assam region since the early 1960s.

"Higher officials of the State Police are on the site. Local administration has been informed about the incident and ONGC is in constant touch with the higher authorities," it added.