Assam tea planter, son kidnapped by gunmen

GUWAHATI - A tea planter, owning four tea gardens in eastern Assam, and his son were kidnapped by gunmen, officials Tuesday said.

A police spokesman said Om Chowkhani and his son Atulya were waylaid by a group of gunmen late Monday from near Doomdoma in eastern Assam’s Tinsukia district.

“In fact, six people were kidnapped in the incident - the planter, his son, and four other garden officials working for Chowkhani,” a senior police official said.

The four officials, including the general manager, driver, and an accountant, were released in phased manner.

“The driver and the accountant were released soon after the kidnapping, while the general manager and another garden official were set free Tuesday afternoon,” the official said.

The vehicle in which the six people were travelling was found abandoned some five km from where the kidnapping took place.

“Preliminary investigations and based on accounts of the four people released we strongly believe the abduction was carried out by a criminal gang rather then militants,” the police official said.

“Maybe the kidnapping was planned to extort money. We believe the two kidnapped people could be somewhere nearby in the thickly forested area,” the police official said.

There has been no ransom telephone call from the abductors so far, the official said.