Two labourers kidnapped by Naga rebels in Arunachal

DIBRUGARH: Two construction labourers were kidnapped by armed cadres of the banned NSCN (K-YA) from a makeshift camp near the Tisa river in Arunachal Pradesh's Longding district on Thursday.
The labourers were identified as Shashank Yadav, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, and Lemgaw Gowam of Nginu village in Arunachal's Tirap district. Both of them were working for a Border Roads Task Force (BRTF) project underway in the district.
"Three armed cadres broke into the camp and kidnapped the two labourers. The incident took place at 4am following which the labourers were taken to Kunno zero point in a pickup truck. The vehicle was then disengaged at the Kunsa-Pongchau road and the cadres reportedly moved towards the India-Myanmar border," said a police source.
According to sources, the kidnapping was carried out on the instruction of self-styled Lt Col Botai Wangsu and Lt Abojak Wangnow of the (NSCN K-YA) faction after the contractor refused to pay extortion money to the banned outfit.
"The kidnapping was carried out by the outfit for extracting ransom. Earlier, many such incidents were reported from Longding district. The NSCN-KYA is quite active in Longding district and they have been involved in kidnapping of contractors and labourers of construction companies for ransom from time to time," said a local resident of Longding.
In the meanwhile, the local police led by Longding SP Tumme Amo and assisted by the Assam Rifles has launched a massive search and combing operation in Longding to trace the two labourers.
On October 29, two brothers, Katwang Wangham, a village chief, and Wangtai Wangsu of Kamhua Noksa village in Longding district were kidnapped by the NSCN (K-YA). The outfit had demanded Rs 60 lakh to secure their safe release. Nearly two weeks after being held captive, the two were finally released on November 9. However, it is not clear whether the payment of ransom facilitated their release.