Imphal, March 8 : Suspected militants of an unknown group abducted 10 labourers from the jungles of Poi in Ukhrul district this morning.
Sources said the militants abducted the labourers after the contractors for whom they had been working failed to meet the extortion demands of the rebel group. The militant group is yet to be identified.
Manipur’s director-general of police, Yumnam Joykumar Singh, however, denied having any information on the abduction of the labourers.
An official source here, however, confirmed receiving information from the district police on the abduction.
“We received information about the abduction of nine or 10 labourers by a militant group. The exact number of labourers abducted is not known and the group too has not been identified. We are yet to receive the details of the abduction. We are trying to verify the facts,” the source added.
The sources said the labourers were engaged in cutting and loading timber in the jungles of Poi.
Poi is located on the Ukhrul-Myanmar border.
The abduction comes in the wake of the kidnapping and killing of sub-divisional officer Thingnam Kishan posted at Kasom Khullen in Ukhrul and two of his subordinate staff by the cadres of the NSCN (I-M) last month.
Child soldiers: The two teenagers from Manipur, abducted by suspected Prepak militants, were being taken to Bangladesh for arms training when they managed to give their abductors the slip, says our Shillong correspondent.
Thongam Noba Singh and Teson Rakesh Singh, both 13 and residents of Thoubal district in Manipur, escaped from the clutches of their abductors on Thursday evening when the Tata Sumo they were travelling in stopped for refuelling at Demthring at Nongthymmai in Shillong.