Engineer abducted in Assam

Suspected Bodo militants, opposed to peace talks, have abducted an engineer from Assam's Chirang district, police said Monday.

The engineer, Angan Rao, was working for a construction firm engaged by the Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd, police said.

He was abducted Sunday evening by armed cadres belonging to anti-talk faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), they said.

"Rao was returning to Barpeta Road from Chirang last evening (Sunday) with three colleagues. A group of armed militants stopped them at Khoirabari and took them hostage. However, the militants later released the other three and kept Rao hostage," police said.

Although a search operation has been launched, Rao has remained untraced so far.

Police said they have not yet received any extortion demand from the militants.

There has been several abductions by the NDFB faction in Chirang. Earlier this month, militants abducted five jawans of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). Three jawans were released by the militants later, but two were suspected to have been killed.