The Mizoram government directed Thangzuala to reach the state's border with Bangladesh after it was informed over phone that the hostages were safe and would be brought to the Mizoram-Bangladesh border by the Mizo leaders to be handed over to the state police.
"We expect them to arrive at the border by midnight. We'll receive them there and provide them with necessary medical attention if required," Thangzuala said.
He said the abductors were not militants, but a group of criminals belonging to the Bru community. Some of the gang members were involved in a robbery at the BDO's office at Zawlnuam last year, Thangzuala said.
The gang had a nexus with an NLFT area commander helped them extort money by resorting to kidnapping of innocent people, he said, adding that the criminals apparently did not obtain permission from the NLFT high command to carry out the abduction on this occasion, sources said.
Meanwhile, Mizoram chief minister Lalthanhawla, while announcing the release of the five hostages, said no ransom was paid to the criminals to secure the release of the captives.
He warned that the state police would take stringent action - such as raiding the hideouts of criminals - if such incidents recurred in the state. "We had approached the ministry of external affairs regarding this incident and informed MEA officials that we may send police commandos across the international border with Bangladesh to secure the release of the captives," Lalthanhawla said.
The five persons are menial workers involved in a road construction project at the Dampa Tiger Reserve on the Mizoram-Bangladesh-Tripura border. They were abducted from the border on February 19 by an armed gang and taken to Bangladesh. The criminals even demanded a ransom of Rs 1 crore for their release. The incident had triggered a strong reaction from civil societies and student bodies in Mizoram.