Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Saturday appealed to ULFA (I) C-in-C Paresh Baruah to release both the employees of Quippo Oil and Gas Infrastructure Limited.

Talking to newsmen in Dibrugarh, Assam CM Sonowal said, โ€œWe have appealed to the ULFA (I) to release the employees of Quippo on humanitarian ground.โ€

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โ€œOur doors are always open for talks. Therefore, we have appealed to ULFA (I) C-in-C Paresh Baruah to shun the path of violence and come to dialogue because only through dialogue and peaceful talks, problems can be solved,โ€ chief minister Sonowal said.

โ€œMany insurgency groups have shunned violence path and come to peace talks. Recently, many rebel groups have surrendered and ready for dialogue,โ€ Sonowal added.

Also read: ULFA (I) to โ€˜killโ€™ two kidnapped Quippo employees next week

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Pranab Kumar Gogoi, a drilling superintendent from Sivasagar district in Assam and Ram Kumar, a radio operator from Bihar, employed with Quippo Oil and Gas Infrastructure Limited, a Delhi-based company, were abducted from the companyโ€™s drilling location in Arunachal Pradeshโ€™s Changlang district on December 21, 2020.

In a statement on Friday, the outfit mentioned that their negotiation with the company between February 16 to 19 had been rendered โ€œfruitlessโ€ and โ€œfinal actionsโ€ against the duo will be taken after completion of a week from last Friday.

ULFA (I) demanded a ransom of Rs 20 crore for the release of the two employees and had set a deadline of February 17 for the company.

Speaking to media persons, G. Ramesh, executive director and state-level coordinator of Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), appealed to ULFA (I) to release both the employees of Quippo Oil and Gas Infrastructure Limited.

โ€œBoth the employees are not the direct employees of IOCL. They are working for Quippo. We have appealed to the rebel outfit to release them as soon as possible,โ€ Ramesh said.

Avik Chakraborty is Northeast Now Correspondent in Dibrugarh. He can be reached at: [email protected]