Abducted SBI official untraced

, Jun 17: State Bank of India branch manager, who was abducted by militants from a remote area in

's West Garo Hills district yesterday, remained untraced today, the police said.

There is no lead so far on the kidnapping of Arvind Kumar, the manager of SBI's Ampati branch, Inspector General of Police G H P Raju said. "A search and rescue operations is continuing in the area. We are working on a strategy to rescue him," Raju said.

Kumar was on his way from Guwahati when his vehicle was stopped by three armed persons at Rangatari near the Garobadha bridge at around 9 AM. His driver was later freed.

While no one has claimed responsibility for the abduction, it was being suspected that the outlawed Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) or its break-away faction –- the A'chik Songna An'pachakgipa Kotok (ASAK) group was responsible for the abduction, Raju said.

Chief Minister Mukul Sangma condemned the abduction saying all efforts would be made to ensure that perpetrators of the crime were brought to book. Meanwhile, the SBI appealed the abductors to release Kumar unconditionally and on humanitarian grounds. "I appeal you not to abduct any bank official as this will only stall developmental activities and take Garo hills backward," Tura State Bank of India Additional Gneral Manager Nixon Joseph said.

Incidents like these would only prevent officers from coming to Garo Hills and result in closure of branches due to shortage of officials, he said, adding consequently, common people would suffer.

PTI