Imphal, April 30 NNN : The spate of kidnappings, abductions and disappearance of teenage boys from different parts of Manipur and also the crimes committed against women, and the brutal murder of a Manipuri student in Karnataka have left everyone speculating as to where all of these crimes are leading to.
One thing is sure; if the government is not sensitive to the aspiration and the pulse of the people, the trouble is going to escalate in the state and the climax is not something one would like to witness.
It is speculated and suspected by many that the hands of underground outfits are involved in the kidnappings and abductions of young boys for the purpose of recruitment to their outfits and/or monetary demands. But there has been no clear proof or evidence to confirm this theory so far. The kidnapping and abductions of children have been observed from time to time in the state in the past
too. But sadly there has been no concrete step from the side of the government to investigate into the matter and find out the real reason/culprits, which has led one to believe that the police department lacks the expertise and will to probe into the crime affecting the society of the land. Isn’t there a crime branch in the Manipur police department which looks into such crimes occurring in the state? Or, perhaps, nobody is interested because such investigations are not lucrative. Maybe it is because of such attitude from the side of the government who is supposed to look after the safety and welfare of the people, not being responsive and sincere that people appeal to those “concerned” to help them out whenever there is a problem which is out of their power of fighting.
The disappearance of young boys started to re-occur on April 7 with the disappearance of three boys from Sairemkhul under Lamsang police station of Imphal West district. The three boys have been reportedly missing since they had gone out from their homes to watch a football match in the neighboring village at about 11:00 A.M. of April 7.
Fortunately, the three boys from Sairem village have been found by their families from Moreh town, near the Indo-Burma border and they have been brought home safely after about 20 days.
Besides these three boys, another two boys from the same village have also been reportedly missing since April 11.
A woman from the same village was arrested on April 20 who had reportedly admitted that she was working for an outlawed organization in recruiting young boys to work for the organization.
Another case of disappearance of young boys has been reported on April 21 in which a student of Don Bosco high school, Chingmeirong, Imphal West district has gone missing after school hours. The boy, Takhellambam Rahul, was staying in the hostel of the school and his disappearance was realized only after his roommates reported that he was missing.
It has come to light that the abduction of Rahul is connected to a monetary demand made by an outlawed organization to the school authority in which Rahul was studying.
This abduction of a school student by an outlawed organization has been strongly condemned by student organizations in the state as well as the people from different parts of the state.
The latest case of abduction has been reported on April 24 in which a young boy was kidnapped and held captive in a van for about 3 hours before being released.
Adding to the crimes committed against women, a woman, Jangthailiu Kamei was abducted and gang raped by four persons on March 22, while another woman, Premila was called out from her home and burnt beyond recognition at a secluded hill top.
The culprits involved in the rape of Jangthailiu Kamei have been arrested but they have not yet been tried for their crimes.
The latest crime which has shocked the people of Manipur is the murder of Richard Loitam, a second
semester student of the Acharya NRV School of Architecture at Soladevanahalli, Karnataka. Friends and family of Richard are saying that the death of Richard is the result of being brutally assaulted on the night of April 17 by some of the students of the hostel where Rahul was staying.
There have been sit-in protests in Imphal demanding appropriate punishment to the murderers of Richard, and protests are also being held at Bangalore and Delhi.
In connection with all these cases, the response of the state government has been found to be inadequate by the people of Manipur. The government may have been engrossed with the expansion of the ministry
for the last few weeks, but now that the expansion of the minister is over, it is high time that the government pay serious attention to these recent crimes and book the culprits quickly before the situation develops into something none of us would like to witness. A stitch in time saves nine.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/frightening-kidnapping-spree/
