CM Himanta Biswa Sarma Assures Early Release of Abducted Ritul Saikia

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday visited abducted ONGC employee Ritul Saikia's house at Titabor in Jorhat and assured the family to rescue Saikia at the earliest. The Chief Minister visited Saikia's residence along with MP Kamakhya Prasad Tasa, Pallab Lochan Das, and Tapan Kumar Gogoi.

In a tweet, the Chief Minister said, "Along with MPs @KamakhyaTasa @pallablochandas @ToponKumarGogo1 we visited abducted Ritul Saikia's house at Titabar, Jorhat to meet and assure the family that the Govt is firmly behind them in these trying times, and we are doing best to rescue Saikia at the earliest."

Earlier on May 12, the family members of the abducted ONGC employee urged Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to take steps to secure safe release of their son.

It may be mentioned that Ritul Saikia, who was released by ULFA(I) cadres along with two other ONGC employees on April 21, 2021, has remained traceless for the last 22 days.

Three ONGC employees, including Ritul Saikia, were abducted by ULFA(I) cadres from Romanian work-over rig of ONGC at Lakwa  under Sivasagar district of upper Assam.

Security forces rescued two of the ONGC employees from Mon district of Nagaland but could not find Ritul Saikia.

Two of the three abductees, who were rescued by Nagaland Police and Army personnel, are Mohini Mohan Gogoi and Alakesh Saikia.

On May 12, Titabor MLA Bhaskar Jyoti Baruah and Mariani MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi visited Ritul Saikia's residence at Titabor and met his family members.

The MLAs also urged ULFA(I) commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah to release Ritul Saikia if he is under their custody.

A surrendered ULFA (I) cadre claimed that ONGC employee Ritul Saikia is with the militant outfit.

The surrendered ULFA (I), whose name has not been disclosed by the security forces, made this claim after laying down arms.

Security forces have launched massive counter-insurgency operations along the Assam-Nagaland border in search of Ritul Saikia.

ULFA (I) has not issued any statement regarding the status of Ritul Saikia or whether he is in their custody.

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