We’re providing security to migrant workers: Manipur CM

Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh said his government was providing security to around 4,000 migrant labourers working at various construction sites in the State.

Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh said his government was providing security to around 4,000 migrant labourers working at various construction sites in the State.

In an interview with The Hindu, Mr. Singh said the security of the labourers from Bihar and Jharkhand was a priority.

The decision follows the killing of Shriram Hansda, 42, an Adivasi from Jharkhand’s Godda district on May 18. He was gunned down by armed miscreants in one of the first targetted attack reporetd against non-locals during the ongoing ethnic violence between the tribal Kuki-Zo and the Meitei people. Along with Hansda, two other labourers working for a water supply company were injured in the incident.

The Manipur police said they had arrested 27-year-old Sairom Birjit Singh, a member of the Kangleipak Communist Party, one of the seven valley-based Meitei extremist groups that has been routinely banned by the government.

“There was no security at the place where the labourer was killed. We have warned people that next time if any such incident happens then they will be engaged legally. There are around 4,000 workers engaged for highway construction, railway projects among others. We are providing security at these locations. If private companies request for security, we are ready to provide that also,” the Chief Minister said.

Mr. Singh said that it was true that extortions had increased in the past one year, but the message was clear that “rule of law” must prevail.

“The cases of extortions have increased but the police are doing combing operations. We are arresting the suspects and putting them behind bars. Many are being booked under the National Security Act. Nobody will be spared,” he said.