From our Special Correspondent

SILCHAR, July 3: The recovery of the body of a teacher, Sanand Das, today from jungle-infested area near the school where he was working by a team of police men, created sensation. The teacher who was missing from May 20 and believed to have been abducted by miscreants for ransom remained traceless for more than one and half month. Though FIR was lodged by his family members in the nearest Ram Krishna Nagar police station in Karimganj district, the police remained inactive. It was when the people of Ram Krishna Nagar, a semi town, and its adjoining areas burst into anger and fury at the inaction of the police and the administration that a man-hunt was launched and three persons were taken into custody.

But, even after the grilling of the three persons by the police, nothing could be known about the fate of Sanand Das, serving as assistant teacher in Nazrul Islam LP School located at Jamirband, 15 km away from Ram Krishna Nagar. However, on the basis of definite clue and tip off from a source, the police dug out his highly decomposed body today which was buried under the earth, not far away from the school. It is suspected that he was killed after abduction due to his failure to meet the demand of his kidnappers. Though family source did not have any say on the demand of the abductors.

As soon as the information about the recovery of his dead body spread in and around Ram Krishna Nagar, hundreds of people from the villages of the area came out and joined together and targeted the houses of the criminals, suspected to be behind the abduction and murder of Sanand Das. Their houses were ransacked and smashed. The police along with CRPF rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control. The information from Ram Krishna Nagar says that in view of the tense situation, the district administration of Karimganj has deployed additional security forces for patrolling and vigilance.

The area falls under South Karimganj constituency represented by Siddeque Ahmed, border area development and co-operation minister. Though posted with the development of the Ram Krishna Nagar, the minister, attending a function in Karimganj town, has yet to visit the area. The source adds to say that in view of the highly volatile situation, the minister is yet to take a decision. The body will be sent for postmortem in Silchar Medical College and Hospital which is expected to untangle the mystery behind the abduction and killing of Sanand Das. In fact, Karimganj and Hailakandi of late have been rocked by series of kidnappings and abductions and in some cases the persons, the victims, have either been missing or killed. The deteriorating law and order situation in Barak Valley as a whole has been a matter of concern and a reflection on the inertia and inefficiency of the administration.