Andhra contractor working on NHAI project abducted by Bodo group in Assam

The lure of working on lucrative highway projects in northeast states has landed yet another contractor from Andhra Pradesh in trouble, after militants owning allegiance to a splinter Bodo group kidnapped a civic contractor in Assam early on Sunday. 

Family members of P Maheswara Reddy, whose firm PMR Construction is working on the construction of National Highway 55, said there have been no demands for ransom yet. "We came to know of his kidnapping this morning through Bhargava, an engineer who works with him. Maheswara Reddy and Bhargava were proceeding from Lumding to Hathikuli when the militants stopped their car and abducted them at gunpoint. They set Bhargava free after some time, but took Maheswara with them", said Chandrasekhara Reddy, his brother. 

The issue has been taken up with the state government by MLA G Srikanth Reddy for Maheswara's release. Chandrasekhar Reddy said his brother was executing two works on NH 55. He is the sole proprietor of the company. 

In recent months, splinter Bodo groups had kidnapped a contractor and three engineers on four different occasions, but released them later. Civil contractors from Prakasam, Guntur and Kadapa districts work as sub-contractors under big construction companies in Assam involved in laying highways and other infrastructure projects. Maheswar has been in Assam for about two years, his family members said. 

In July, militants in Nagaland kidnapped two engineers --- Gogineni Pratish Chandra and Raghu of Prithvi Construction Company --- but freed them unharmed within two days following negotiations by company representatives. 

Pratish, who returned from Australia before taking up the Nagaland job, said the kidnappers did not mistreat them. "They enquired about our company's activities and projects we were working on", he said. Both engineers quit their northeast jobs and opted for work in Vijayawada later. 

In June, militants kidnapped Vasishta Construction Company engineer B Nagamalleswara Rao and kept him hostage for five days. "They gave me food and treated me well. However, I was worried about what would happen to me and the distress my family was going through," he said. 

Initially, the militants had demanded a ransom of Rs 6 crore, but company proprietor Subba Raju said no ransom had been paid in exchange for Rao's release. In December 2013, engineer Bathula Ankan Rao from Prakasam district was abducted by militants and was released after two days in captivity.