Sonitpur, Guwahati:
A class seven student Rana Das, who had been kidnapped by Bodo militants has finally returned home after 2 months in captivity. But though the return has brought smiles back on his parents' faces, the family seems to be fighting an entirely new emotional battle.
Thirteen-year-old Rana, who has started going back to school, life after two months and twelve days in captivity of the Bodo militants, is no longer the same.
Sudden bouts of fear and anxiety are an everyday phenomenon for his parents.
" We worry all the time. We have four children and they all go to school , who knows what is next?" said Roma Das, Mother.
Rana's father runs a general provisions store and though he managed to raise the ransom demand to secure the release of his son , he doesn't know how to pay back his debt.
" I have a huge debt in the market. I had three lakh of my own and I had to borrow seven lakh from friends, neighbours, shops. I don't even know how to repay that debt?" said Ratan Das, Father.
For the past few years, the militant outfit in the region appears to have gone desperate. Till July 2010, 19 people have been abducted of which and three are still in their custody. In 2009 the group had abducted more than forty .
The security forces have been of little help in these cases and paying of ransom seems to be the only way out for many.
Even after continuous operations being carried out by the security forces, the outfit is extremely active particularly in places near the North Bank.