Rebels kidnap railway workers

Police in the north-eastern Indian state of Tripura say separatist rebels have kidnapped nine railway employees, including two top officials.

They say twenty armed rebels, from the outlawed National Liberation Front of Tripura, seized seven of the men as they laid track at Sindhukumarpara in the state's northern district of Dhalai.

Another group of rebels kidnapped two other railwaymen who were delivering water to their seven colleagues.

Police say they suspect the NLFT because it has recently been trying to extort money from businesses and government organisations, including the railways, and the abduction would be a way of frightening businessmen into paying up.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service