Sivasagar, April 21: The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) on Wednesday said three of its employees have been kidnapped by unidentified miscreants. Separatist outfit United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent or ULFA-I is suspected to be behind the kidnapping. The kidnapped employees are Mohini Mohan Gogoi, Ritul Saikia and Alakesh Saikia. ULFA Releases Second Kidnapped Employee of Oil Exploration Firm.

In a statement put out on Twitter, the ONGC said two Junior Engineer Assistants (Production) and a Junior Technician (Production) have been abducted from a rig site in Lakwa field in Assam's Sivasagar district. The abduction took place around 1:30 am. Reports said there were four to five heavily armed kidnappers. Navy Official Kidnapped, Burnt Alive in Palghar.

3 ONGC Employees Kidnapped:

"The abducted employees were taken by the miscreants in an operational vehicle belonging to ONGC. Later, the vehicle was found abandoned near the Nimonagarh jungles close to the Assam-Nagaland border," the state-run company said. The motive behind the abduction remained unclear.

ONGC Statement:

Following the incident, a complaint was lodged and high-rank officers of the Assam Police were inspecting the crime scene. "Local administration has been informed about the incident and ONGC is in constant touch with the higher authorities," the company said. ONGC has been exploring and producing oil and gas in Upper Assam since early 1960s.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 21, 2021 09:26 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).