Hostages will be traced soon, assures CM

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, May 28: Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand has assured that the people taken hostage by militants will be traced soon.
The Chief Minister today visited Makhan village in Kangpokpi district and interacted with internally displaced persons taking shelter at Makhen Baptist Church, conveyed a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Secretariat.
Speaking to media persons at Makhan village, Y Khemchand stated that four persons suspected to be involved in the kidnapping of the six Naga civilians have already been arrested.
He informed that the Government takes the issue seriously, and search and combing operations by security forces are on to trace the whereabouts of the hostages.  
Saying that the bodies of two children killed earlier could not be located till date, the Chief Minister told media persons that security forces have been carrying out a series of search operations together with sniffer dogs to locate the six Naga men.
Given the vastness and the terrain of the hill districts, search operations carried out in the hill districts take a lot more manpower and time than in the valley districts.
It will take some time to trace the missing men, Khemchand said.    
The Chief Minister also held a closed door meeting with the women of Konsakhul who were abducted by Kuki militants and freed later.
IDPs taking shelter at Makhen Baptist Church include Naga women and children of Konsakhul village who were recently taken hostage and released by armed miscreants.
The Chief Minister also distributed relief materials like rice, dal, potatoes, onion, edible oil, sugar, tea leaf and biscuits.
The total number of IDPs currently taking shelter in the village is around 35.
Khemchand Singh also inspected the village community hall and discussed with the village chief and district officials on the possibility of sheltering more IDPs.
He instructed the Deputy Commissioner, Kangpokpi to provide all necessary items like mattresses and mosquito nets.
The village chief told the Chief Minister that many Nagas in Kangpokpi district had left their villages due to fear.
The Chief Minister was accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Losii Dikho, MLAs Leishiyo Keishing, Awangbow Newmai, Heikham Dingo Singh, Janghemlung Panmei, Khashim Vashum, Ram Muivah, J Kumo Sha, Commissioner (Home) N Ashok Kumar, Deputy Commissioner (Kangpokpi) Mahesh Chaudhari, among others.
Together with Deputy Chief Minister Losii Dikho, Naga MLAs and the MLA of Sekmai AC, Khemchand held a closed door meeting with the chairmen of Makhan and Konsakhul villages and the women of Konsakhul who were earlier abducted by Kuki militants on the prevailing situation. The meeting went on for around 1 hour and 30 minutes.   With tears in their eyes, the Naga women pleaded with the Chief Minister to hand over their husbands and other men who were abducted together with them but taken away separately, dead or alive.
The women also narrated before the Chief Minister how they were held captive by Kuki militants with their hands and legs tied in a hilly location after they were abducted on May 13.
The Chief Minister was accorded a warm welcome upon his arrival at the Makhen Baptist Church guest house where he was briefed by the Makhan village chairman and the Konsakhul village chairman on the hardships being faced by the inmates/IDPs.