Andhra Pradesh man kidnapped in Assam

Hyderabad: Suspected militants of the Dimasa outfit allegedly kidnapped a Telugu sub-contractor at Langting area in Dima Hasao district of Assam early on Sunday morning.

Mr P. Maheswar Reddy, 50, was on his way to work on a two-wheeler with his colleague when a gang of six armed militants stopped them on the road.

Mr Reddy’s wife, P. Subhadramma said no demands had been made yet.

Both AP and Telangana government officials have contacted their counterparts in Assam regarding the issue.

Assam police officials said that the insurgent group kidnapped the victim to extort money and they were hopeful that Mr Reddy would be released once the ransom was paid. They were waiting for the ransom call.

The victim P Maheshwar Reddy

Suspected militants of the Dimasa outfit, released P. Maheswar Reddy’s colleague Bhargav half an hour after the abduction. He later informed the district police and Mr Reddy’s family members about his kidnap in Hyderabad.

Mr Reddy, who is working with Infrastructure company IL&FS Limited, has been in Assam for the last two years working on a east-west corridor on National Highway 54, his relatives said.

According to Assam police officials, the victim and his colleague started from their guest house at Lumding after 4 am. “Before reaching their destination, they stopped their vehicle and he spoke to someone on the phone. Following this, a group of six armed militants, suspected to be from Dimasa outfit, abducted them. After a while they let Bhargav go and took Mr Reddy inside the forest,” said Dima Hasao district SP Shiva Prasad Ganjala.

Mr Bhargav, who was let off, could not inform others since his phone was out of coverage area. He went to the nearest police outpost and informed the police, after which a force headed by the SP reached there. However, the abductors could not be traced.

Mr Bhargav contacted Mr Reddy’s family after 10 am.

Senior police officials from Andhra Pradesh said that they had contacted their counterparts in Assam. In-charge DGP R.P. Thakur has spoken to the Assam DGP and the state intelligence chief regarding the matter.

Dima Hasao district police officials said that the outfits’ main source of income was extortion and they had abducted Mr Reddy since he had been taking care of the road project for the last two years.

“We are hopeful that he is safe and will be released soon. We are waiting for the ransom call,” said the District SP.

Mr Reddy, who hails from Raichur of Kadapa, had been living with his family in Gachibowli of Hyderabad. His son Manjunath Reddy is pursuing MBA in London while his daughter Nishita is married and lives in Hyderabad. Mr Reddy also owns a small company named PMR and he is jointly working with IL&FS Limited on the project.