After 17 days, abducted tea garden employee finally rescued

Our Correspondent

DIGBOI, June 26: Finally ending all speculation centring round the status of ULFA hostage Dinanath Upadhaya (51) of Jagun on his 17th day of captivity in Myanmar-based ULFA camp, Upadhaya made a safe comeback on Monday evening after he was dramatically released by the outfit. Following 16 days of captivity, Upadhaya was traced and recovered by security forces from Lungri Basti along the Assam-Arunachal border near Wara village the 17th day. The abducted victim, who was found in sound health, said that he was kept in the Myanmar ULFA base located amidst thick vegetation cover.

“I was abducted suddenly on my way by a group of five armed youths who never chastised me but made me walk continuously till we reached the Myanmar destination,” said Upadhaya. He thanked the militant outfit for taking good care of him. Margherita MLA Bhaskar Sharma and the owner of the Funeng based tea garden where Upadhaya worked, visited Upadhaya and comforted him. Earlier, various organizations and family members of the victim had protested and appealed to the ULFA for his safe release.

Ransom of around Rs 3.5 crore was also demanded by the ULFA for the safe release of Upadhaya, who is an employee of Radha Chetia of Jagun, the owner of Funeng Tea Garden. The dramatic recovery of the abducted victim along the Assam- Arunachal border is baffling and not free from the apprehension whether or not the release was made against the ransom as sought by the outfit. However, after medical and other official formalities, the rescued victim was handed over to the family members at Udaipur.