Assam BJP Leader’s Son, Kidnapped By ULFA-I, Released
GUWAHATI: The son of a BJP leader from Assam, who was kidnapped by the militant group ULFA-I (United Liberation Front of Assam, Independent) last month, has been released. 27-year-old Kuldeep Moran, son of BJP’s Ratnaswer Moran, was kidnapped by ULFA-I on August 1 from a small town on the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. He was released at the Myanmar-Arunachal Pradesh border today, sources said.
The ULFA-I, in a chilling ISIS-style video, had demanded Rs. 1 crore as ransom for the release of Kuldeep. The video showed Kuldeep, kneeling, asking for help, surrounded by five masked men holding guns. Dressed in a green T-shirt, Kuldeep is heard begging his parents, uncle and Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to free him. “I am sick, I miss my parents. Please pay the ransom and get me released. I could be killed in a crossfire,” he is heard saying in Assamese.
There is no clarity yet if any ransom was paid to ensure Kuldeep’s release. The ULFA-I is notorious for a series of kidnappings and killings in the northeast. It was possibly the first time the organisation has released a ransom video like this in its 37-year history.
