One dies in custody of Myanmar insurgents

GUWAHATI: One of the five Indian workers abducted by an insurgent outfit in Myanmar has died in the group’s custody while the other four were released on Monday, people familiar with the matter said.

The Arakan Army (AA) took 10 people, including the five Indians, hostage in Myanmar’s conflict-hit Rakhine state on Sunday.

“The five Indians, all employed by companies working on the KMMTP [Kaladan Multimodal Transport Project], and five Myanmar nationals were abducted last evening [Sunday evening] when they were on their way from Paletwa [Chin state] to Kyauktaw [in Rakhine state] in two speed boats,” an Indian security official familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity.

The official cited above added that this was the first instance of the AA targeting Indian citizens. The official identified the deceased Indian as 60-year-old Vinoo Gopal and said that initial information suggests that he might have died of a heart attack.

Stating that they “did not target the Indians”, AA spokesman Khaing Thukha told news agency AFP: “Unfortunately he [Gopal] suddenly died from exhaustion... we did not do anything to him.”

A member of the outfit said the Indians were “not abducted”.

“Our forces found five Indians and two translators when they stopped two speed boats for normal checking for security in Kaladan river. We have nothing to do with Indians. We planned to release them since yesterday [Sunday] evening,” the AA member said.

The AA, which is fighting for greater autonomy for ethnic Rakhine Buddhists, has previously carried out ambushes, assassinations and bomb attacks.

A lawmaker from Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy was still in the outfit’s custody, news agency AFP quoted a Myanmar government official as saying.

› The five Indians, all employed by companies working on the KMMTP, and five Myanmar nationals were abducted last evening [Sunday] INDIAN SECURITY OFFICIAL