Manipur CM asks army to trace man missing since Nov 25

PTI, IMPHAL, NOVEMBER 29, 2024: Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh on Friday asked the army to take steps to trace a 56-year-old man who has been missing since November 25 from Kangpokpi district. Laishram Kamalbabu Singh went missing from the 57th Mountain Division campus of the army, and an FIR has been lodged with the Sekmai Police Station over his disappearance.

The Chief Minister asked the authorities at the Leimakhong army camp to take responsibility for finding out the man. "After the killing of three women and three children in Jiribam, another issue, concerning the disappearance of Laishram Kamalbabu Singh from the compound of Leimakhong army camp of the 57th Mountain Division, cropped up," he said. The missing man is a resident of Loitang Khunoy area, falling under the Sekmai assembly constituency.

"Yesterday, Sekmai MLA Dingo Singh and members of a Joint Action Committee (JAC), formed in connection with the missing man, met with me and discussed the matter. A memorandum addressed to the prime minister was submitted to me by the residents of Loitang Khunoy and surrounding areas," Singh said. They demanded immediate rescue of the missing man and sought punishment for the perpetrators, he said. "The government has urged army officers and central officials to trace him. His whereabouts are still unknown. An FIR has been registered with the Sekmai Police Station," Singh said.

The CM had said that the missing man was engaged in making furniture for army officers. "There is evidence that Kamalbabu signed when he entered the campus. A copy of that signature is also enclosed in the memorandum addressed to the prime minister. Since Kamalbabu disappeared from the army compound, the army should share major responsibility in finding him," the Chief Minister claimed.

Singh also alleged, "Unfortunately, there are signs of lack of transparency and sincerity among a section of security personnel in Manipur. The state government has conveyed the matter (disappearance of the man) to the army authorities to take a lead role in finding the missing man. This is a very serious issue."

The Joint Action Committee (JAC), formed in response to the disappearance of Kamalbabu, also held a demonstration in Kanto Sabal area in Imphal West district, demanding that the authorities take steps to trace the missing man.

Meanwhile, the state government has approved the inclusion of internally displaced people residing in designated relief camps for enrollment under the Chief Minister's Hakshel Tengbang (CMHT) health scheme, an official said. This will allow displaced people to access benefits of the scheme for one year, he said.

More than 250 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May last year.