Abducted Assam cement firm executive escapes in Shillong

GUWAHATI - The kidnapped executive of a cement company made a dramatic appearance in Meghalaya capital Shillong eight hours after he was abducted at gunpoint from near Assam’s main city of Guwahati, police said Friday.

A police spokesperson said Narendra Nimodia, director of Star Cement, a local brand in Assam, jumped out of the car taking advantage of a traffic jam near the Eastern Air Command headquarters in Shillong around 9 p.m. Thursday.

“The kidnappers got out of the vehicle and wanted to find out why there was a traffic jam, and taking advantage of that Nimodia jumped out, went straight inside the Eastern Air Command headquarters gate and informed the sentry,” a Meghalaya police official said.

The Star Cement executive was kidnapped earlier by at least four unidentified gunmen from Jorabat on the outskirts of Guwahati around 3 p.m. Thursday.

“We believe it was a gang of criminals who kidnapped him for money and planned to take him to some remote area in Meghalaya,” the official said.

An Assam Police team later brought him back to Guwahati early Friday.

“We are interrogating him and trying to find out how the kidnapping took place and who the abductors were,” a police official said.

Police are also investigating if Nimodia was trying to cook up the story of the entire escape drama.

“We are trying to find out if Star Cement made a deal with the kidnappers and made some payments to get their executive released,” the official said.

Thursday’s abduction comes a day after two businessmen kidnapped Sunday were rescued by police. Bishnu Kedia and Sanjay Agarwal were rescued from Sonapur on the outskirts of Guwahati.

Kedia and Agarwal, running a dairy business in Guwahati, were abducted at gunpoint by a group of four Sunday midnight from near their factory in Sasal area of Guwahati.

Police claimed the duo was released with the captors unable to bear the security pressure on them.