Armed miscreants kidnapped two employees of an oil company in Arunachal Pradesh’s Changlang district, said a senior police officer on Tuesday.

Chukhu Apa, the Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) said, from a drilling site at Kumchaikha near Innao, a drilling superintendent and a radio operator of the Quippo Oil and Gas Infrastructure Ltd were kidnapped on Monday evening.

The site from which the duo was kidnapped is close to the Manabhum reserve forest. 14 armed miscreants were reported to be present during the kidnapping. The area is frequented by NSCN (K), ULFA (I) and NSCN (IM) militants, he said.

The police said, “The abduction is suspected to have been carried out either by the NSCN (IM) or the ULFA (I) for ransom”. They added that no ransom calls have been received till now.

The Arunachal Pradesh Police has alerted its Assam correspondents. A massive search operation was launched along with Army and paramilitary forces.