A hand grenade was on Thursday found outside the house of a man who allegedly went missing from the Leimakhong Military Station in November, triggering panic in the area, police said. The grenade was found near the gate of Laishram Kamalbabu Singh’s house at Loitang Khunou in Imphal West district. It was later retrieved and defused, the police said.
A note was also found along with the grenade, claiming that the Joint Action Committee formed in response to the man going missing must be disbanded and a new JAC should be constituted.
"No contractors which sells the land can be part of the JAC," the note read. The JAC has been spearheading the protests that have been underway since the man went missing on November 25.
What had happened when the man went ‘missing’?
Last week, CM N Biren Singh, who claimed that Laishram had gone missing from the military station, said the case would be handed over to the CBI. Laishram, a native of Assam's Cachar district, was a works supervisor for a contractor working with the Military Engineering Services (MES) in Leimakhong Military Station of the 57th Mountain Division, according to the Army.
Police had earlier said that over 2,000 security personnel were deployed to search for Singh, who belongs to the Metei community.
Amid protests over his disappearance, state Social Welfare Minister Heikham Dingo had said that all documents related to Singh were sent to the Prime Minister’s Office as well as the offices of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah.
Manipur Rifles soldier arrested with drugs
In another case in the northeastern state, a Manipur Rifles personnel was arrested with drugs worth lakhs of rupees in Kakching district, Chief Minister N Biren Singh said on Thursday. The arrested personnel was a rifleman of the 1st Manipur Rifles and attached to the CID.
Singh said the arrest highlighted the influence of drug money on security personnel. "I applaud the efforts of the CDO-Kakching team for their swift action in apprehending the individual. Approximately 10.2 kg of suspected WY tablets was seized during the operation," he added.
An officer said that the arrest was made from Pallel Mamang Leikai. An investigation was underway to identify others involved in drug smuggling, he said.
(With inputs from PTI)
