Militants kidnap executive engineer in Manipur

An executive engineer of Manipur public health and engineering department has been kidnapped by unidentified militants for ransom, official sources said today.
   
L Dhaballo (55) was abducted by gunmen while he was returning from office at Khoyathong area here to his home in Imphal East district on December 3.
   
According to sources close to Dhaballo, the militants demanded Rs5 crore from the department for his safe release but this could not be immediately confirmed with senior officials of the PHED.
   
This is the second time an executive engineer was kidnapped by Meghalaya militants within a month.
   
Militants of United People's Party of Kangleipak (UPPK) had kidnapped two engineers of electricity department --executive engineer Th Tomalchand and sector officer L Mangi--on November 6 from Khurai in Imphal East district.
   
Officials said UPPK had demanded Rs15 lakh from the state electricity department to release them but UPPK said the two were abducted to clarify some official matters. The duo is still in the custody of the UPPK, the sources said.