ANVC releases Dr Bezbaruah

SHILLONG, Jan 29 ? Dr PN Bezbaruah, District Medical and Health Officer, Williamnagar, was released from the captivity of suspected ANVC militants, at Williamnagar around 12.30 pm today. Meghalaya DGP L Sailo informed The Assam Tribune this evening that Dr Bezbaruah who was taken hostage on December 19 last year, was ?OK but weak?. He was released by his abductors at the outskirts of Williamnagar from where he walked home to rejoin his family after 42 days of captivity. The ANVC had placed a demand of Rs 30 lakh for his release. It is believed no ransom was paid to the abductors. ?It was the pressure exerted by friends and some NGOs which forced the militants to release Dr Bezbaruah unharmed,? Sailo claimed. The police, meanwhile, recovered one American M-16 rifle and a Chinese assault rifle in a raid in Shillong today morning. One Dister Marbaniang, an overground worker of the banned Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) was nabbed following a raid at his Wahingdoh house here.