Ignorant Home Minister
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: January 18 2013 -

With each passing day, the 'drama' around the seizure of a huge consignment of Pseudoephedrine tablets worth around Rs 1.4 cores from Imphal Tulihal Airport by a team of Special Intelligence Unit (SIU) of Imphal West district on January 11 is becoming more intriguing.

A day after the seizure of the consignment which was brought by an Air Deccan cargo flight, Inspector Ranjit who led the SIU team was transferred as Inspector of CAR following a pre-dated order signed by N Herojit, Additional Superintendent of Police, Imphal West District.

Even as the sudden and unceremonial send off of the valiant police officer has not just eye-brows but also some serious questions, K Jayanta Singh, Superintendent of Police, Imphal West District came up with another order on January 15 declaring abolition of the 'one and only ever effective' anti-drug sleuth unit of the State with immediate effect.

The order also made it clear that all the officers and men attached with the unit from different police stations/branches should report to their respective former places of posting without further ado.

As if all these fast and unexpectedly moves were not enough to intrigue the mind of the people, Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam, who is also in charge of Home, has claimed that he has no knowledge of setting up or abolishing of the Special Intelligence Unit (SIU) of Imphal West District.

This brings us to the question where the honourable Minister has been all these while? The Special Intelligence Unit (SIU) of Imphal West district was constituted on May 6 last year in accordance to an order of even no. dated 06/05/2012 issued by the office of Superintendent of Police, Imphal West district and the order (with reference no. 2/19/C-4/RO/2008/1233) for abolishing the unit came on January 15, 2013.

The copy of the order too had been forwarded to the Additional SP (Ops/Law & Order) of Imphal West; to all the SDPOs of Imphal, Lamphel, Singjamei, Mayang Imphal and Imphal West as well as to the respective OCs of Imphal, Lamphel, Lamshang Police Stations, Commandos Imphal West & Bazaar Unit/RI-RL/Store, Imphal West; ROI Imphal West, Inspector K Ranjit Singh, CAR, Imphal West; Head Clerk to SP Imphal, apart from including in the service book/file, etc.

So, the claim of Gaikhangam, who is not only the Deputy Chief Minister of the State but also the Home Minister that he knew nothing about setting up of SIU or its abolition has made the drama centering around the January 11 drug seizure from the airport all the more intriguing.

Without going into the details of the successful exploits of SIU sleuths within a span of just 8 months or questioning the rationale behind abolition of such an effective anti-drug unit in such an unexpected manner, one thing that the perplexing public would definitely like to know is if a mere SP of a district can passed orders for constituting anti-drug unit or abolishing it at his own sweet will without the knowledge of Home Minister, then what is the point of having the post of a Home Minister in the Government at the cost of tax-payers' money?

Looking for an alibi to wash off hands from the drug scandal is not the desirable quality of a leader and feigning ignorance over the case could never be bliss.