Six WWF volunteers abducted in Assam

Six volunteers of the Worldwide Fund for Nature,who were engaged in a survey of tigers and elephants,were abducted by some unidentified militants from near the Ripu-Chirang Wildlife Sanctuary on Sunday afternoon.

Six volunteers of the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF),who were engaged in a survey of tigers and elephants,were abducted by some unidentified militants from near the Ripu-Chirang Wildlife Sanctuary on Sunday afternoon. The place is close to the Bhutan border,west of Manas Tiger Reserve in Assam.

The volunteers reportedly went missing from their camp in Kokrajhar district,with sources saying that the incident occurred at around 2 pm on Sunday.

The six were fresh university graduates who were working on a WWF project and staying at a forest camp inside the Ultapani range since January 22. While the WWF and forest officials have lodged an FIR,a manhunt has been launched by the police and the Army.

Two other WWF volunteers,David Smith and Binita Baruwati,who were working at a nearby site were spared by the abductors.

It was David who called up from a Bhutan telephone number to inform us about the abduction and conveyed the message from the abductors, an official of the WWF said on Monday. He said that the abductors,whose identity is yet to be ascertained,had sent a message that the group wanted to talk to senior WWF officials for releasing the volunteers.