Three engineers from Bengal, allegedly held hostage by their employers in Assam's Silchar for refusing to compromise on construction quality, had to be rescued by police of the neighbouring state in the last week of May.

The engineers were working under a private construction company contracted for the Assam government’s road infrastructure project "Asom Mala".

The rescue became possible after the wife of a Nadia-based project manager lodged a complaint with Krishnanagar police, following a distress call from her husband who managed to share the location of their hideout on May 23.

The complaint prompted Krishnanagar police to immediately coordinate with their counterparts in Silchar. Silchar police conducted a raid and rescued the three engineers — project manager Sandip Mukherjee from Krishnanagar, along with his colleagues Joy Banerjee from Cooch Behar and Bholanath Maiti from Bankura — within an hour of the wife's complaint.

The incident became public only on Thursday, when Nadia police briefed the media and presented Mukherjee, who had recuperated from trauma and injuries suffered from assaults during captivity.

Speaking to reporters, Mukherjee said: “I have got a new life due to the prompt action by police. Otherwise, I couldn't have returned home.”

Mukherjee joined the Assam-based company as project manager on March 31 and began overseeing engineering supervision work for a road project under Asom Mala in April first week.

Asom Mala, inspired by the Bharatmala Pariyojana, is a flagship initiative launched by the Assam government to develop the state’s road infrastructure for seamless connectivity and regional development.

Mukherjee said that upon arrival at the project site, he found absence of manpower, materials and machinery, and kept the work suspended.

“I contacted the company's chief engineer’s office in Guwahati. They asked me to go ahead according to plan. I informed them about my requirements, and the company agreed to provide the necessary support and logistics,” he said.

However, even after a month, Mukherjee said the company did not supply the needed resources or machinery, and the ongoing construction was of extremely poor quality.

“I told the official that I could not continue or approve such work. Some local persons associated with the company who were overseeing operations started threatening us, saying we could not return,” he said.

Sensing hostility, most of the 22 team members from Bengal fled the site. With work stalled again due to the lack of personnel, Mukherjee requested the authorities to allow him to return home, citing his daughter's upcoming Common University Entrance Test (CUET).

“I urged them to let me go, but they warned me not to even think about leaving. They eventually took us hostage. We were taken to a hideout in Silchar and assaulted repeatedly. They snatched our phones, but before that, I managed to call my wife and share the location, asking her to contact the Krishnanagar SP and file a complaint,” he said.

“Krishnanagar police acted with amazing speed, contacted Assam Police, and we were rescued within an hour,” Mukherjee added.

Krishnanagar police district additional SP Makwana Meetkumar Sanjaykumar told The Telegraph: “On May 23, we received a complaint from the wife of the kidnapped engineer and immediately took up the matter with our counterparts in Assam. Eventually, the engineer and his two colleagues were rescued within an hour. He returned home with signs of trauma and injuries from the assault.”

The additional SP confirmed that a case had been initiated. Investigation is underway, although no arrests have been made so far, sources said.

Sagarika Mukherjee, the rescued project manager's wife, said: “I felt completely helpless at first. But the way the police took up the matter and coordinated the rescue was beyond our imagination. No praise is enough for their efforts."