Armed militants abduct 3 ONGC employees from rig site in Assam
New Delhi, Apr 21: Five armed militants on Wednesday early morning abducted three employees of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) from a rig site in Assam after locking security guards and driving away in the company's emergency-cum-medical vehicle.
The militants, suspected to be belonging to banned ULFA (I) group, later abandoned the vehicle near the Nimonagarh jungle close to the Assam-Nagaland border, a company official said.
On Wednesday early morning, five armed militants raided the company's remote rig site under the Lakwa oilfield in Sivasagar district of Assam. They first locked the two security guards posted at site before bundling the three young employees into the company's emergency-cum-medical vehicle stationed at the rig site and drove away.
The official said the company has filed a complaint with the local police and beefed up security at installations in Assam.
No gun shot was fired during the abduction. "We don't know how the entire episode unfolded. The police is looking into it," he said.
Local and central control rooms have been activated to coordinate with the police to get the employees released.
"A high-level review of security of employees and their families has been held and we are taking additional measures," the official said, refusing to elaborate on steps being taken. "We are also taking help from local police."
ONGC has around 2,000 employees, officers and support staff in the Sivasagar asset.
Whereabouts of the kidnapped employees are not known and kidnappers have not made any contact with the families or the company so far, the official said.
"3 ONGC employees, 2 Junior Engineer Assistants (Production) & a Junior Technician (Production) have been abducted by unknown armed miscreants in the early hours of 21 April 2021. The abduction took place on a rig site of ONGC in Lakwa field of Sivasagar District," the company said in a tweet.
All three employees are local Assamese. They have been identified as M M Gogoi and Ritul Saikia -- both junior engineer assistants (production) -- and Alakesh Saikia, a junior technician (production).
The official said all the three were young employees, hailing from Dibrugarh and Jorhat.
"The abducted employees were taken by the miscreants in an operational vehicle belonging to ONGC. Later, the vehicle was found abandoned near the Nimonagarh jungles close to the Assam-Nagaland border," ONGC said in another tweet. "A complaint has been lodged by ONGC with the local police."
ONGC has been exploring and producing oil and gas in the Upper Assam region since the early 1960s.
"Higher officials of the State Police are on the site. Local administration has been informed about the incident and ONGC is in constant touch with the higher authorities," it added.
The official said ONGC has made contact with the families of the abducted and is providing every possible assistance.
3 ONGC employees, 2 Junior Engineer Assistants (Production) & a Junior Technician (Production) have been abducted by unknown armed miscreants in the early hours of 21 April 2021. The abduction took place on a rig site of ONGC in Lakwa field of Sivasagar District.
— ONGC (@ONGC_) April 21, 2021
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Allahabad HC orders probe into 'reinstatement' of teacher in UP's Barabanki
Lucknow (PTI): The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday ordered a probe by the special task force (STF) into alleged irregularities in the rejoining of a teacher at City Intermediate College in Barabanki, observing that the reinstatement appeared to be prima facie illegal.
The court also directed the recovery of the salary paid to the teacher during the disputed period.
A bench of Justice Rajeev Singh passed the order on a petition filed by the college management committee. The court expressed doubts over the roles of the District Inspector of Schools (DIOS), Barabanki, the college principal and the teacher concerned and hence, directed a detailed inquiry into the matter.
Taking note of alleged manipulation of records and misleading submissions, the court ordered the immediate transfer of the Barabanki DIOS to ensure a fair probe. It also directed the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against the then joint director of education of the Ayodhya division.
In its order, the court found that the teacher, Abhay Kumar, was initially appointed as an assistant teacher in 2018 but joined an Eklavya Model Residential School in Chhattisgarh as a lecturer in June 2024 without obtaining permission from the management. His subsequent request to retain the lien was rejected.
Despite this, he was allowed to rejoin the Barabanki College in September 2025 on the directions of the joint director of education and the DIOS, and was even paid the salary for October 2025. The court termed the rejoining "wholly illegal" and lacking any legal basis.
The bench also expressed concern over lapses in communication within the education department and directed the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary to ensure that official orders are communicated through email and WhatsApp as well, to prevent disputes.
The matter is next listed for hearing on May 28 when a compliance report is sought.
