Imphal, Feb. 22 : A public uproar and threats of an indefinite general strike forced abductors to free former student leader, Sairem Robindro Singh, 25, who was snatched by suspected security personnel in civil dress last week.
About seven to eight persons, who came in a van, abducted Robindro Singh from his Nambol home in Bishnupur around midnight on Wednesday and took him to an unknown location.
Robindro Singh was a former president of the All Manipur Students Union, Bishnupur district committee.
The abductors, who did not disclose their identities to the hostage and his family members, released the former student leader late last night in Nambol. He reached home at 12.30am last night.
“The abductors did not disclose their identity. They appeared to be security personnel. They also appeared to be militants. I am not sure. They accused me of being a cadre of a militant group and extorting money, which is why they appeared to me to be security forces,” Robindro Singh told the media this afternoon.
“They tortured me all the time, asking me to produce money I had extorted, while in custody. I told them that I did not have any link with militants and did not extort money,” he added.
Robindro Singh said the abductors kept him blindfolded all the time.
They hid him in a house in an unknown location. After all their efforts to extract any information failed, the abductors told him that he would be freed and finally let him go at a place about 3km from his house late last night.
Police and security forces, however, denied any hand in the abduction.
The release came after residents of Nambol went up in arms yesterday threatening to call an indefinite general strike throughout Manipur from midnight tonight, if the abductors failed to free the hostage by 4pm.
Residents declared an ultimatum after protesters had a standoff with the police yesterday near Nambol police station.
The police fired teargas shells after a large number of protesters tried to storm Nambol police station, injuring a relative of the hostage.
The police used teargas shells after the agitators broke a barricade near the police station.
