The Army launched a search operation Tuesday after a 56-year-old man from the Meitei community went missing after he went to work at the Leimakhong Military Station Monday. The disappearance of a person from a military garrison — located at the border of Meitei majority Imphal West district and Kuki-Zomi majority Kangpokpi and is the headquarter of the Indian Army’s 57 Mountain Division — has led to tensions in Imphal West. The missing man, Kamal Babu, is a supervisor for a contractor working with Military Engineering Services (MES) in Leimakhong Military Station. On Tuesday night, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said a zero FIR has been filed in connection with the case and the police concerned are in touch with army authorities to locate the missing person. Kamal Babu’s family said he had left home in Khurkhul in Imphal West at around 9 am as usual and had entered the campus. But he did not return home at around 4 pm as usual. They approached the police station when he had not returned even by 8.30 pm. Kamal’s son-in-law Moirangthem Ibo said that he, along with other family leaders and local leaders met authorities of the 57 Mountain Division. “We checked all the CCTV footage of the division and we saw him entering at around 9.15 am but he cannot be seen leaving. We have been informed that his last location was at the Key Location Point, which is an area close to a road between Kangpokpi and Churachandpur,” Ibo said. A security official corroborated that monitoring CCTV footage does not show where he disappeared from. “Acting on input, the Army sprung into action, immediately activating all its resources. CCTV feeds are being carefully scanned, his co-workers are being spoken to and an intense search operation, including the tracker dogs, has been launched. Despite a thorough search of the areas, neither the individual nor his 2-wheeler has been located. The combing operation has been further intensified, spreading across the military station and adjoining villages. Drones and other aerial platforms have also been integrated. Army authorities have interacted with the CSOs of the region to trace the missing individual,” read a statement from the Ministry of Defence. “The Army has requested the Meitei CSOs to remove blockades for a free and swift movement of the Armed Forces and Police,” it read. Tensions over Kamal Babu’s disappearance is especially high because of the abduction of six women and children of a Meitei family on November 11 from Jiribam by armed Hmar gunmen. The gunmen, suspected to be militants, were killed. This incident sparked massive protests in the valley and the houses of ministers and MLAs, including the Chief Minister were targeted by angry mobs.
