Itanagar, July 19: A search operation has been launched in Arunachal Pradesh’s remote Kurung Kumey district, not very far from the LAC with China, in search of group of 19 road construction labourers who have gone missing since a fortnight from a border road construction site in Damin circle of Kurung Kumey, about 300 KM from state capital Itanagar.
There are unconfirmed reports of recovery of the dead body of one labourer in the Kurung Kumey river. Teams have been sent out to verify the veracity of this information, officials added.
According to a missing complaint filed by the contractor under whom these 19 migrant labourers, who had come from Assam, were working, the labourers had alleged fled the labour camps at the road construction site of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) in Damin circle on July 5 after the contractor reportedly denied them leave to go back to their homes in Assam to celebrate Bakra Eid, held on July 12.
The missing report was filed with the local police station on July 13, Police sources added.
“What we can confirm is that 19 construction workers who fled the construction site according to the missing report filed last week, are still untraced. There is social media post doing the round about a dead body seen in the river area and we have sent out senior govt officials and police party to verify this information. The area is extremely remote with hilly terrains and dense jungles, our search operations are on. The underconstruction road is a border road that would lead to the remote border villages from Damin circle headquarters and is a very crucial strategic road,” Deputy Commissioner of Kurung Kumey district Nighee Bengia said.
Damin is about 130 KM from Koloriang and the construction site is another 15 KM walk from Damin, the Deputy Commissioner further added.
The LAC with China is about 80 KM from Damin, the last administrative circle in that area, officials further added.
Meanwhile, police has registered another case against the sub contractor from Assam’s Lakhimpur who has allegedly brought those migrant labourers from Assam, Police sources further added.
