Assam: ULFA-I to release abducted Quippo employees

DIBRUGARH:

The United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) has finally decided to release two kidnapped ‘Quippo’ employees on March 3.

An official source informed that the decision was taken after a round of talks between ULFA-I and the OIL Company Quippo in New Delhi on Monday.

Notably, the ULFA-I chief Paresh Baruah has urged the Delhi-based company to appoint 5,000 qualified engineers from Assam.

Delhi-based Quippo Oil and Gas Infrastructure Ltd’s drilling superintendent Pranab Kumar Gogoi and radio operator Ram Kumar were abducted at gunpoint by the United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) from the drilling site in Innao area of Arunachal Pradesh’s Changlang district on December 21 last year.

Also Read: Abducted Quippo employees untraceable, says Arunachal DGP

Pranab Kumar Gogoi hails from the Sivasagar district of Assam and Ram Kumar hails from Bihar. Kumar’s five-year-old son, who is battling blood cancer, has made an emotional appeal for his father’s release.

ULFA-I reportedly demanded Rs 20 crore for the men and had initially set February 16 as the deadline for the ransom payment.

A video appeal of two employees released by the outfit in January confirmed they are in the custody of ULFA-I and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN).

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and pro talk ULFA leader Anup Chetia appealed to ULFA-I chief Paresh Baruah to release both the employees unharmed.

Recently, through an interview with an Assam-based satellite channel, ULFA-I chief Paresh Baruah said that Quippo oil company is not concerned about their employees' fate.

The family members of both the employees who were abducted appealed to the ULFA-I chief to return both of them unharmed.

(Edited by Laxmi Chyrmang)