Guwahati, April 6 NNN: Nine non-tribal labourers working on a hospital project were abducted at gunpoint from Rong Bong Ghat area under Borpathar police station in Karbi Anglong district of Assam early Friday morning. Karbi People’s Liberation Tiger (KPLT) militants are suspected to be behind the abduction.
According to Karbi Anglong police, a group of armed militants raided a camp of 27 labourers adjacent to the construction site of the model hospital, beat some of them and whisked 10 others away. One of the abducted labourers was released later on.
“The finger of suspicion points at KPLT. We have launched a search operation in coordination with army and CRPF’s elite commando teams,” said Karbi Anglong police chief BB Chettri. He added heavy rain and poor communication slowed the search operation.
Police suspected that the abduction was an outcome of the hospital contractor’s refusal to pay protection money or ‘goonda tax’. Contractors executing various government projects in Karbi Anglong hills periodically receive extortion demands from KPLT.
KPLT is a breakaway faction of the erstwhile United People Democratic Solidarity that was disbanded last year following a truce pact with New Delhi. Security forces busted several camps of the outfit but it has been operating out of dense jungles to create terror toward statehood for the Karbi tribal people.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/nine-labourers-abducted-in-karbi/
