In a fresh incident of kidnapping in Garo Hills, two traders from Assam were abducted in Chokpot town of South Garo Hills.
The traders, who hail from Assam’s South Salmara Mankachar district, were kidnapped by armed miscreants when they were heading towards a weekly market in Chokpot on a Mahindra Max Pick-up van.
The victims have been identified as Ismail Hussain and Nur Alam Mia.
While Ismail Hussain is a resident of Sonarpara, Nur Alam Mia is a resident of Santipur.
According to reports, the duo was picked up by the armed men from the vehicle which was going to Chokpot town carrying a group of petty traders from South Salmara Mankachar.
Sources said the incident took place at around 1:30 am on Tuesday at a place called Teksagre, 8 km away from Chokpot town.
The armed miscreants took advantage of the darkness and the isolation of the place.
The victims are small garment traders.
According to media reports, South Garo Hills Police has launched operation to rescue the Assam traders.
Three suspects have been detained by the police in connection with the incident.
A media report quoted South Garo Hills Superintendent of Police Billy Graham Marak as saying: “We have picked up three suspects in this connection and one dummy (fake) AK rifle made of wood has been seized from one of the men detained.”
Involvement of former militants in the kidnapping has not been ruled out.
It may be mentioned that the Chokpot region was once known for insurgency activities and was a hot bed for the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) militants.