ULFA (I) release tea garden employee after 18 days in captivity

GUWAHATI: The banned Ulfa (Independent) on Monday released the tea garden employee, Dinanath Upadhyaya,near Nampong in Arunachal Pradesh’s

Changlang

district, after 18 days in captivity.

Tinsukia district

superintendent of police Mugdhajyoti Mahanta told TOI, “He has reached his home and is unwell. He has told us that how he was taken to Myanmar. We need to interrogate him further when he gets well.”

Police say they don’t have any confirmation whether any ransom was paid for Upadhyaya’s release. The outfit had demanded Rs 3.5 crore from Updahyaya’s employer, Radhe Chetia, who owns the Phaneng tea garden where Upadhaya, 52, is employed as a supervisor.

He was abducted by banned Ulfa (Independent) on June 8 from the tea garden. Last week Upadhyaya’s family members offered ‘prayers’ to the outfit’s leader

Paresh Baruah

’s portrait seeking his immediate release from captivity.

On June 16, Ulfa(I) released a video where Upadhyaya was appealing to his employer Radha Chetia and Margherita BJP legislator Bhaskar Sharma to secure his release. Updahyaay in the video was seen saying that he has been abducted by Ulfa(I) for passing on information on movements of its cadres and that of NSCN (Khaplang) to his employer and Margherita MLA.