Nearly a month after they were abducted from Arunachal Pradesh by militants, two employees of a private drilling company on Wednesday, in a video message pleaded for help from Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his Assam counterpart, Sarbananda Sonowal, for their release.
The video was released to media organisations in Guwahati by Ulfa (Independent), a banned militant group in Assam, on Wednesday.
Ram Kumar and Pranab Kumar Gogoi, employees of Quippo Oil and Gas Infrastructure Limited were abducted at gunpoint on December 22 from their worksite under Dyung police station in the militancy-affected Changlang district in Arunachal Pradesh. Gogoi is a drilling superintendent while Kumar works as a radio operator in the company.
Police officials said the outfits demanded Rs 20 crore from the company for their release.
In the video recorded in an undisclosed location, both the abducted persons said they were abducted by Ulfa (I) and NSCN due to "conflict" with the private company they were working for.
"I request our Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to talk to Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal for my release," Kumar, a resident of Bahadurpur in Bihar's Khagaria district said in the video message.
Gogoi, who hails from eastern Assam's Sivasagar district said the company took no step yet for their release. "I request the company to talk to the groups and take steps for our release. I also urge our CM Sonowal to force the company to save the life of an Assamese," he said.
Although security forces initially could not pinpoint the group involved in their abduction, Ulfa (I) "commander-in-chief" Paresh Baruah called up television channels in Guwahati on January 12 admitting that the duo was in their captivity. Baruah also warned that Kumar would be the "first victim of dire consequences" if the company did not "amicably settle the issue" with them.