Imphal on the edge over explosions, missing kids

IMPHAL: Police have tightened security in the state capital following a rise in grenade attacks by underground rebels and frequent disappearance of children. Forty different underground organizations are operating in Manipur - most of them demand restoration of the state's past sovereignty, while others are fighting to safeguard their respective ethnic clusters.

"Elaborate security measures have been taken up to thwart these attacks on offices, residences of officials and businessmen and the mysterious disappearance of children," said additional SP (Imphal West) N Herojit Meitei. He said that apart from setting up nine check posts, as many additional quick response teams have also been fanned out to strategic areas. "We are also conducting frisking operation and sudden raids round the clock to net rebels," said the senior police officer.

Of the two explosions on Tuesday night, the first one took place near a private nursing home at Lamphel Sana Keithel in Imphal West while another grenade went off near the residence of a minor irrigation engineer at Sagolband in the same district.

Meanwhile, at least nine children have gone missing in the last few days prompting parents as well as the police to suspect insurgent outfits for recruitment of chilssd soldiers in their fold. Though there had been reports of child soldier recruitment by rebel groups in the state a few years ago, the outfits flatly denied the claims. In the latest such incident, Rahul Takhellambam, a standard VII boarder student of Don Bosco high school in Chingmeirong, went missing on Saturday.

On Tuesday, a sit-in-protest and a public meeting was held at Sangakpham. The meeting decided to launch a stir if the government fails to take concrete action by Sunday.