Barely 24-hrs away from deadline, Boboy’s life hangs

IMPHAL | FEBRUARY 14 : Less than 24 hours away before the expiry of the deadline set by the proscribed Kangleipak Communist Party-Military Council (KCP-MC) Taibanganba faction to deliver ransom money in exchange for the kidnapped AIRCEL employee, the Joint Action Committee (JAC) against the kidnapping of the employee has been fervently scrambling to establish truce between the kidnappers and AIRCEL. A memorandum has also been submitted to the chief minister for his immediate intervention.  M Boboy, a supervisor with the Delhi based BCL security private limited which is providing security requirements of the telecom firm AIRCEL in Manipur was kidnapped by the banned KCP on February 11 for a ransom demand of Rs. 5 crore to be delivered before 2 pm of February 15.
 The JAC members along with local people of Kumbi Market today converged in Imphal to submit a memorandum to the chief minister O Ibobi Singh for his intervention in the safe release of Boboy before the expiry of the dateline.
 The memorandum has been formulated as a result of the resolution adopted following a public meeting convened in the Kumbi. Consequently, a 48-hour bandh in Bishnupur district on Imphal-Churachandpur inter-district road was enforced from 5 am of February 14 with essential services and religious activities exempted from the purview of the bandh.   The 48-hour bandh has been purportedly imposed as a clarion call to all telecom companies like AIRCEL, Idea, Tata Indicom, Vodafone etc. operating in the State to come to the negotiating table and pitch together for the safe release of Boboy.
On humanitarian ground and in view of the agony faced by the widowed mother of Boboy, the JAC has appealed to KCP-MC Taibanganba group to release him from the shackle of captivity.   If any unforeseen happens, all civil organizations in the State must shoulder responsibility in rooting out telecom service providers from the State because that would be construed as the companies not being able to provide security to its employees, it said.
 Significantly, an AIRCEL employee, Thoiba, had been shot death following a harsh capital punishment handed down by a banned outfit early this month.