BDO abducted in Meghalaya

Shillong: A Block Development Officer (BDO) in Meghalaya's South Garo Hills district was taken hostage by armed militants for not yielding to their extortion demands, police said today.

The 2010 Meghalaya Civil Service batch officer Jude Rangku T Sangma who was travelling to West Garo Hills district in a government vehicle after work last evening was abducted at Deku area, they said.

 "We were informed of his being taken captive by armed militants at around 7 PM," a senior police officer in the district told PTI.

 The vehicle was seized by the police and it was learnt that the officer who left Chokpot block office at around 4:30 PM had stopped over at a funeral of a relative in Deku Deganggre village before proceeding towards Tura.

 According to the police, the armed militants took the BDO hostage and chased away his two companions while leaving the vehicle behind on the roadside.

 Police believed that proscribed Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) commander Hedeo Momin alias Karak as the person behind the abduction.

 The militant group had been at loggerheads with the officer for refusing to comply with extortion demands.

 The abduction of Sangma is the third instance of a BDO getting abducted in Garo Hills region.

 In 2012, Dadenggre BDO P K Boro was abducted from the block office and was released after 34 days of captivity.

 Selsella BDO, Dr D Roy, was also kidnapped about a decade ago by the now disbanded Achik National Volunteer Council (ANVC) militant.