Imphal, Dec 29 (IANS): Despite hectic search by Army and other security forces, the 56-year-old man who was working as a supervisor for a contractor at a Military station in Manipur went missing and remains untraced for 35 days, officials said on Sunday.
Defence sources said that around 2,000 soldiers of the Army and Assam Rifles continued their hectic search operation to locate Laishram Kamalbabu Singh, who has been missing since November 25.
Manipur Police also separately conducted the search operation to locate Kamalbabu Singh, a resident of Gossaipur under Cachar district in southern Assam, who was staying at Loitang Khunou village in Imphal West district. He had left his residence on November 25 for the Leimakhong military station but went missing.
He was working as a supervisor for a contractor working with the Military Engineering Services (MES) in Leimakhong Military Station of the 57th Mountain Division at Kangpokpi.
A top Manipur government official told IANS on Sunday that the state government handed over the “missing” case to CBI.
A Joint Action Committee (JAC) and the Meira Paibis (women vigilantes in Manipur), which have been separately agitating demanding the rescue of the “missing” man, have also sought intervention of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to locate the man.
The JAC leaders and other agitating organisations’ representatives on a number of occasions met Chief Minister N. Biren Singh and discussed the “abduction” of Kamalbabu Singh.
The Chief Minister earlier urged the Army to undertake all-out efforts to locate and rescue Kamalbabu Singh and take responsibility for finding him.
State Social Welfare Minister Heikham Dingo Singh said that all documents related to Kamalbabu Singh were sent to the Prime Minister's Office as well as the offices of Defence Minister and Home Minister to take appropriate actions.
According to a defence spokesman, the Army officials are constantly interacting with village heads and community elders to gather information to further intensify the search operation.
The CCTV feeds have been scanned, Kamalbabu Singh’s co-workers were being spoken to, and an intense search operation, including with the aid of sniffer dogs, has been continued, he said.
The Manipur High Court had earlier constituted a four-member committee to conduct an enquiry in connection with the missing man.
A Home Department official said that the Division Bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice D. Krishnakumar and Justice Golmei Gaiphulshillu Kabui heard the petition filed by the brother of the missing person and constituted the committee headed by the District Magistrate of Kangpokpi.
Leimakhong military station, located 16 km away from the capital Imphal, is surrounded by Kuki-Zo-Hmar tribal-dominated areas.
After ethnic violence broke out in Manipur in May last year, people belonging to the Meitei community fled the areas near Leimakhong village.