Miscreants torched 14 excavators and a trailer on NH-37 in Imphal

Imphal: At least 14 excavators and a trailer truck engaged in road construction work on NH-37 connecting Imphal to Jiribam in Manipur were set ablaze by unknown miscreants in the last 24 hours.
One of the diggers’ owners, Nongmaithem Inao, told the press in Imphal on Monday that the diggers caught fire in the area between Keithelmanb village and K Senam village.
The miscreants allegedly used a crane to destroy the burnt excavators and tried to sell the scrap metal in Silchar, Assam, Inao said.

Responding to a reporter’s question, Inao said the owners of the burnt vehicles have lodged a complaint with the police, which is investigating the incident.
Speaking to the media, the association’s general secretary Gurumayum Shitaljit sought cooperation from all private truckers and companies in the strike and appealed to them to cooperate with the association’s decision.
It is worth noting that NH-37 has become a hunting ground for anti-social elements while Manipur is heavily affected by the three-month-long communal clashes between Kukis and Meiteis.

On this NH-37, anti-social elements armed with sophisticated weapons are allegedly extorting Rs 5000 from trucks carrying essential goods in the state.
Highway robbers take advantage of loopholes created by the security forces from time to time for their ruthless extortion campaigns.

In this regard, All Manipur Road Transport Drivers and Motor Workers Union (AMRTDMWU) Secretary General M Anil Meitei said that armed militants seized vehicles plying on NH-37.
The armed men stopped the trucks in the New Keiphundai area and extorted Rs 5000 from each truck that reached Jiribam between 7:30 am and 8:00 am.