Imphal, Jan. 26 : An angry mob stormed the house of a suspect in an abduction case in Manipur’s Thoubal district this morning.
The suspect fled home along with his family members and went into hiding today.
The mob attack came after the hostage, identified as Potsangbam Sanajaoba, 28, escaped from his abductors’ clutches this morning.
Sanajaoba, a resident of Porompat in Imphal East district, said he was abducted by four persons, one of whom had hired his autorickshaw, between Imphal city and Porompat, on January 22 evening.
“One person hired my auto in Imphal city and we went to Lilong in Thoubal district. Three people joined the passenger there. They kidnapped me in my autorickshaw at gunpoint. I was blindfolded,” Sanajaoba said.
He said he was kept in a hut in the middle of a vast paddy field since the day he was abducted.
The kidnappers used his cell phone to call his family. They demanded a ransom of Rs 7 lakh for his release.
Sanajaoba’s family members were told he was carrying banned drugs worth Rs 7 lakh.
Sanajaoba denied the charge.
The kidnappers threatened Sanajaoba’s family that they would kill him if the ransom was not paid by Sunday.
The family members were asked to meet the kidnappers on the banks of the Wangoi.
Police recovered the autorickshaw on Sunday morning near the scheduled meeting place. The family went to the spot but no one was there.
“This morning, I suddenly found no one except myself at the paddy field hut. The kidnappers were nowhere to be seen. Taking advantage of the situation, I fled and narrated the entire incident to the villagers of Lilong Haoreibi Kom, which is nearby,” he said.
The residents of Lilong Haoreibi Kom held a meeting this morning and did their share of investigation. They strongly suspected the involvement of one Md Islam Rahman, 30, a resident of Lilong Sambrukhong, also a neighbouring village.
Rahman, according to the villagers, had a record of anti-social activities.
The villagers, after the meeting, decided to punish the suspect and stormed his house.
When the mob reached the suspect’s house, they found not one. “They dismantled the mud house. Apparently, the family members fled, sensing trouble,” an eyewitness said.
The police said they were looking for the suspect. No one was arrested for the demolition of the mud house.
Voters’ Day
The National Voters’ Day was observed with a daylong programme at the Basic Training Centre auditorium hall in Kokrajhar today, reports our Kokrajhar correspondent.
A public meeting, chaired by additional deputy commissioner of the district, A.K. Brahma, was held. Deputy commissioner Donald Gilfellan was the chief guest. He urged people to vote fearlessly and elect good represen-tatives. District election officer R.C. Malakar and inspector of schools R.S. Borgoyary were also present.