Hand grenade found at gate of missing man's house in Manipur

Imphal: A hand grenade was on Thursday found outside the house of Laishram Kamalbabu Singh, who went missing allegedly from the Leimakhong Military Station in November, triggering panic in the area, police said.

The grenade was found near the gate of Singh's house at Loitang Khunou in Imphal West district, they said.

Police later retrieved the grenade and defused it.

A note was also found along with the grenade, stating that the Joint Action Committee formed in response to the man going missing must be disbanded and a new JAC should be constituted.

It also said, "No contractors which sells the land can be part of the JAC." The JAC has been spearheading the protests that have been underway since the man went missing on November 25.

Last week, CM N Biren Singh, who claimed that Singh had gone missing from the military station, said the case would be handed over to the CBI.

Singh, a native of Assam's Cachar district, was a works supervisor for a contractor working with the Military Engineering Services (MES) in Leimakhong Military Station of the 57th Mountain Division, according to the Army.

Police had earlier said that over 2,000 security personnel were deployed to search for Singh, who belongs to the Metei community.

Amid protests over his disappearance, state Social Welfare Minister Heikham Dingo had said that all documents related to Singh were sent to the Prime Minister’s Office as well as the offices of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah.