ULFA-I to Release Ritul Saikia in 1-4 Days, Announcement After Assam CM's 'Humble Request' to Paresh Baruah

Guwahati:

ULFA-I Agreed to Release Ritul Saikia: Within minutes of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's 'humble request' to ULFA-I Chief Paresh Barua to release abducted ONGC staffer Ritul Saikia from the banned outfit's captivity, the outfit made an announcement stating that Saikia who has been in captivity since April 21 this year would be released in one to four days.

Sharing the information with a local news channel of Assam, ULFA Commander-in-Chief Baruah said that it is more than 200 per cent confirmed that Ritual Saikia would return home hail and hearty.

The announcement came even as the press conference of Chief Minister Sarma was going on in Guwahati where the Chief Minister had made a 'humble request' to ULFA-I Chief Baruah to release Saikia, father of a 4-month old child. CM Sarma had said that ULFA-I Chief Baruah should not think that he is requesting as the Chief Minister and he has the police and the Army at his command, but this is just a 'humble plea'.

CM Sarma, during the press conference, said that it would not be prudent to make the functioning of the oil companies operating out of Assam difficult as they are a major source of revenue for the Assam government unlike the tea industry that of late, been contributing nothing to the government coffers.

Just two days back on May 18, CM Sarma had met Ritul Saikia's parents and his wife and four-month-old baby at their residence in Titabar, Jorhat. The Chief Minister had met the family of Ritul Saikia just a day after taking over as the CM of Assam on May 10. He had met them during his Majuli trip on May 11.

Ritul Saikia was kidnapped along with two other ONGC employees from ONGC's Lakwa oil field in Sibsagar district of Assam on April 21 this year. The other two employees, Mohini Mohan Gogoi and Alakesh Saikia were rescued during a joint operation conducted by Assam Police, Army and Nagaland Police on April 24, within three days of being abducted by ULFA-I. They were rescued from the Mon district of Nagaland.

Assam CM Sarma had earlier informed that Ritul Saikia was being held captive in Myanmar and was in good health.

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