Two train drivers kidnapped in Assam

GUWAHATI - Two train drivers were kidnapped by tribal separatists Sunday from a running goods train in Assam, officials said.

A police spokesperson said heavily armed militants belonging to the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) boarded and stopped the train at gunpoint and abducted the driver and his assistant near Gamani on the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border.

The rebels managed to board the running train as it was moving at a speed of about 15 km per hour due to the hilly terrain.

The train, carrying rice and other essentials from the Food Corporation of India depot in Rangapara in northern Assam, was on its way to Bhalukpung in Arunacha Pradesh when the incident took place around midday Sunday.

“About four NDFB militants carrying small and big weapons boarded the train and asked the driver to stop at gunpoint,” a police official said.

“There were about six railway staff when the incident took place. The train was forced to stop first and then the militants started asking how much salary they earned before taking away the train driver and his assistant,” the official said.

Railway employees resorted to a wildcat strike and forced suspension of all goods and passenger trains running to Arunachal Pradesh.

“The NDFB militants would now demand ransom money to secure the release of the two kidnapped drivers,” the official said.

A massive hunt has been launched in the thickly-forested area.