Six days on, no clue about kidnapped FCI boss, employees threaten st

Guwahati, Apr 22 (UNI) FCI executive director (Northeast) Phul Chand Ram was still untraced even after six days of his abduction, even as the police and Army have jointly intensified searching.

Ram has been kidnapped by suspected anti-India rebels soon after leaving his Ulubari office in Guwahati on the night of April 17. His official car was found at the Rangiya town, about 35 km from Guwahati, in lower Asom a day later. But his driver Raviram Basumatary and him were still missing.

Operations had been intensified in the Baksa district and areas bordering Bhutan to trace them an army source said.

The Red Horns Division of the Army has been instructed to help the police in the search operations.

The intelligence department was trying to find whether the driver, who hails from Tamulpur in Baksa, had any involvement in the kidnapping.

Unconfirmed reports said the ULFA had demanded Rs 21 crore as ransom for Ram's release that created a flutter in the state.

While chief minister Tarun Gogoi suspected Ulfa's invovement in the kidnapping, a senior Army official said it was yet to be ascertained whether any outfit was behind the abduction.

A vigilance team of the FCI is also investigating the case.

Meanwhile, the FCI employees of the North East Frontier Region today urged the chief ministers of seven NE states to secure the immediate release of their official. They also threatened to launch movement if the chief ministers failed to secure Ram's release.

UNI