Imphal, December 05: After heavy exchange of firing which took place at Itham Moirang Purel today morning, a combined team of Thoubal Police and Commandos led by SP Th Radheshyam managed to rescue the driver and the conductor of a truck that had been hijacked by some suspected underground activists.

On receiving information that the abducted persons and the hijacked truck are present at Kamuching area at around 8.30 am today, the combined team rushed in and conducted a massive search operation in and around the area.

At Itham Moirang Purel, three suspected UGs fired at the combined force leading to exchange of firing from both sides for almost one and half hour.

Exchange of heavy firing continued even after a reinforcement of Imphal East Commandos arrived at the site and the abducted persons were finally rescued at around 1.30 pm and the hijacked truck which had been driven inside the river bed with the intention of setting it on fire was recovered at around 4.30 pm.

The rescued driver has been identified as Nongthombam Nanao (29) of Thoubal Kiyam Siphai Babu Bazar and the conductor as Nongthombam Robin (17).They are brothers.

The registration number of the truck is MN01-6315.According to police, the truck loaded with tyres and GI sheets had been hijacked by unidentified persons from Mantripukhri area on December 2.However, at the time of recovering the truck, it was empty.