Bodies of abducted people found in Assam

The bullet-riddled bodies of four people, who were abducted by suspected Bodo militants in Assam's Baksa district, have been found, while the curfew imposed in some areas was extended, police said Sunday.

Cadres of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) faction opposed to peace talks with the government abducted the four people Friday night from the district, part of the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD).

One body was fished out from the Beki river in Barpeta district Saturday evening, while the other three bodies were fished out from the same river in Baksa district Sunday, police said.

The four bodies were identified to be of the abducted people.

Seven traders had gone to Salbari area Friday. While three of them returned home, the four others were abducted.

Police Saturday found four abandoned bicycles belonging to the four missing people.

"We recovered one body from Barpeta district last evening (Saturday). Today (Sunday), we recovered other three bodies from the Beki river in Baksa district," state Home Commissioner G.D. Tripathy said.

Tension prevailed in the region following the recovery of the bodies.

"We are conscious of the law and order situation and additional forces have been deployed to handle the situation. The army also has been put on high alert," Tripathy said.

The government Saturday named police officer Majibur Rahman as the Baksa police superintendent in place of N.V. Chandrakant.

The curfew, which was imposed in a few areas in Baksa district Saturday, was extended to some areas in nearby Barpeta district.

Several non-Bodo organisations and students' groups Sunday protested in many areas, demanding security for non-Bodo people.

The BTAD region - which includes the four districts of Kokrajhar, Baksa, Chirang and Udalguri - had witnessed clashes between Bodos and Bengali-speaking Muslim settlers in 2012 that led to the death of over 90 civilians.

Earlier this year, the NDFB militants attacked Bengali-speaking Muslims in BTAD.