48-hour bandh along national highway in Manipur

IMPHAL: A 48-hour bandh called by Manipur's taxi association in protest against the killing of a driver by militants, has affected the traffic along the Manipur portion of national highway No. 39, officials said on Sunday.

Manipur State Taxi Service Association (MSTSA) has called the bandh from 6pm on Saturday along the national highway-39 connecting Imphal-Dimapur-Guwahati, they said.

Reports from the districts said transport services between Manipur and neighbouring states were cancelled on Sunday in view of the bandh.

Officials said Manipur-bound trucks with essential items may enter the state only after the bandh was over because security to escort them could not be sent earlier.

Manas Ali, hailing from Sukhajan village in Assam's Karbi Along district, was recently killed by militants who reportedly demanded Rs 15 lakh from the owner of the taxi driven by Ali, an MSTSA spokesman said.

The spokesman appealed to the public to support the MSTSA-sponsored bandh along the highway so that the attention of the authorities could be drawn to prevent occurrence of such killings in future.

Official sources said Ali was kidnapped by suspected militants who hired his taxi to go to Dimapur in Nagaland on February 22 from a taxi station in Imphal.

His body was found on March 7 at Kangpokpi area in Manipur's Senapati district, sources said, adding that the body has been handed over to the family after conducting postmortem at Regional Institute of Medical Science and Hospital here yesterday.