Bodies of kidnapped IB officer, trader found after a month

Bodies of young Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Bikash Singh and a trader, who were kidnapped by insurgents in Meghalaya's South Garo Hills district a month ago, were found buried in a jungle.

"We have recovered body of the IB officer and that of the trader yesterday from a shallow grave in a forested area in Bolchugre," South Garo Hills SP Lakador Syiem said.

They were killed a day after their abduction on September 24 and the bodies were moderately decomposed, he said.

Family members of the victims have identified the bodies as those of Singh and cloth merchant Kamal Saha, Syiem said.

The two were kidnapped at gunpoint by members of the A'chik Songna An'pachakgipa Kotok (ASAK) militant outfit on September 24 from a place between Ampangre and Panda reserve forest in the district. ASAK is a breakaway faction of Achik National Volunteer Council (ANVC).

The SP said the breakthrough came after police arrested and interrogated Sengran Shira, the brother of ASAK commander Sengbat Shira, who led them to the site where the duo were killed.

The bodies were handed over to the respective families after postmortem.