Find missing Meitei man, Manipur Govt. tells Army

Educational institutions in Imphal Valley and Jiribam reopen after remaining closed for 13 days due to violence

Manipur Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh on Friday (November 29, 2024) asked the Army to take responsibility for tracing a 56-year-old Meitei man who went missing near a garrison in Kangpokpi district on November 25.

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He told journalists in the State’s capital Imphal that the onus was on the Army to find Laishram Kamalbabu Singh, a resident of Loitang Khonou falling under Sekmai Assembly constituency, as he was last seen near Leimakhong Army camp.

A zero FIR was lodged with the police in Sekmai over his disappearance.

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The Chief Minister said Sekmai MLA Heikham Dingo Singh and members of a Joint Action Committee (JAC) formed in connection with the missing man, submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi through him on Thursday.

“The JAC members demanded that the missing person be rescued immediately. The State government has asked the Army and Central government officials to trace him,” he said, appealing to the people to stay calm.

Imphal Valley has been tense since the man’s disappearance as there are fears of mob violence similar to the one that followed the recovery of the bodies of six Meitei women and children reportedly abducted by extremists from a relief camp in Jiribam district on November 11.

A certain degree of normalcy returned to some sensitive parts of the State on Friday as educational institutions reopened after 13 days and curfew was relaxed from 5 a.m. to 4 p.m. They were closed on November 16 after widespread violence that saw the houses of 15 MLAs, including Ministers, being vandalised or set ablaze.

The schools and colleges reopened in Imphal East, Imphal West, Bishnupur, Kakching, Thoubal (all in Imphal Valley) and Jiribam districts. The State government decided to reopen the educational institutions after an improvement in the law-and-order situation.

Officials said about 80% of the students attended classes.

Published - November 30, 2024 01:40 am IST