Imphal, April 02: While there is no official confirmation on whether the Centre seriously deliberated on whether to impose President's rule in the State or not, it is confirmed that the grave law and order was the central issue during the meeting between the top bureaucrats of the State and officials of the Union Ministry.

Speaking to The Sangai Express a reliable source said that Chief Secretary Jarnail Singh met the Union Cabinet Secretary, KM Chandrasekhar yesterday evening and discussed at length the law and order situation, against the backdrop of the bomb attack at the Assembly as well as the killings of 15 migrant workers in March this year.

Though the source refused to divulge details of the discussion, the Chief Secretary is reported to have given a detailed report on the steps taken up by the State Government following the recent spurt in violence in the State, especially in Imphal.

Taking a serious note of the killings of migrant workers, Singh and Chandrasekhar discussed the steps that may be taken up to ensure security for the civil population, said the source and added that the possibility of launching a multi-pronged strategy by the State Government and Delhi to ensure the security of migrant workers on a long term basis was also discussed.

The handicap faced by the State police in its fight against the underground cadres was also discussed threadbare, said the source.

Towards addressing this issue, the meeting discussed on the need to increase man power as well as supply additional bullet proof vehicles, said the source.

The Chief Secretary also made it clear that since Manipur is facing a shortage of police officers, the 21 IPS (Manipur cadre) officers on deputation be released for State duty.