Jajpur, Nov. 22: An officer of L&T was abducted and allegedly assaulted by criminals in the industrial complex area here yesterday.

The injured officer, 45-year-old Himadri Mukharjee, was rescued by the police and admitted to the local hospital for treatment. The officer is engaged in construction at Kalinga Nagar in Jajpur, the steel hub of India.

In a written complaint to the Jajpur Road police, Mukharjee who is working as the industrial relations officer, stated that while he was coming to the plant site at Kalinga Nagar, around 16 motorcycle-borne youths led by Nikua Dhal of Jenapur intercepted him near Military Chhak.

They took him out of his vehicle to an abandoned house. Later, the goons assaulted him physically.

Police sources said that a passer-by had seen Mukharjee being taken forcibly by the youths and alerted the local police. The police rushed to the house and rescued him. Seeing the police from a distance, the accused fled.

The officer identified three out of the 16 abductors, namely Nikua Dhal, Ninua Panda and Prasanjit Nayak, all from Jakhapura village.

The inspector in charge of Jajpur Road police station Aswini Kumar Sahu said: “As soon as we were informed, we rushed to the spot and rescued the officer. We have registered a case in this connection. Despite several raids conducted last night, the accused have not yet been traced, but we are hopeful of tracing them soon.”

The motive behind the abduction was to be ascertained, he said.