Imphal, March 20 2009: Unidentified persons reportedly hijacked consignments of computer parts and other electronic items worth Rs 15 lakhs from the mail van of the post office here yesterday.

The consignments which send in the name of the General Post Office, Imphal had been brought from Guwahati by a cargo plane of the Indian Airlines.

In protest against the hijacking, staff of the General Post Office today suspended their normal work and staged a protest demonstration.

According to an official source from the General Post Office, Imphal, the consignments have been send from Guwahati in a cargo plane of the Indian Airlines which landed at Imphal airport at around 1 pm yesterday and were being brought from the airport by the van driver of the Post office and four other Group-D employees, when it was hijacked along the way by the unidentified miscreants.

As the van carrying the computer parts and other electronic items packed in 51 different packages approached Leirik Memorial Hospital, the unidentified miscreants numbering around four of them who were already there intercepted the van and made it to be driven till Nepra Menjor Pukhri Mapal.

There, all the packages from the van were loaded to a waiting DI Tata of blue and white colour and after that the driver and the staff of the mail van were told to go.

The released staff arrived at the post office at around 2 pm.

Along with reporting the matter, a case has been registered by the Lamphel police in connection with the incident of hijacking the consignments worth around Rs 15 lakhs.

Even as the police have recorded the statements of the five staff who have gone to pick up the consignments from the airport yesterday, a departmental inquiry has also been started from the side of the Post Office.

It is said that the consignment send in the name of the General Post Office, Imphal was meant for 13 different shops of Imphal.

In condemnation of the incident, staff of the post office today suspended their normal duty and staged a protest demonstration in front of the office from 9.30 am to 11 am.

As the staff of the Cargo Section of the Post Office also suspended their duties and joined in the protest demonstration, consignments of the post office brought by Cargo plane today were collected along with security escorts at around 2.30 pm.

LS polls : To ensure proper co-ordination among the different Departments to-wards peaceful conduct of the forthcoming two-phased 15th Lok Sabha election in the State, a meeting of the State Level Co-ordinating Committee has been con-vened tomorrow.

To be held at the main conference hall of the Secretariat South Block with Chief Secretary in the chair, the meeting would be attended by Additional Chief Secretary (Home), DGP and officials of the Electricity, Works and PHE Departments.

The meeting would commence at 12.30 pm.

Out of the total 2193 polling stations to be set up for the upcoming Lok Sabha election, 553 polling stations have been tentatively identified as hypersensitive, 1306 polling stations as sensitive and 334 polling stations as normal.

In all 5 observers for the Inner and 7 observers for the Outer Parliamentary Constituency would be pressed into service during the election.

On the other hand, to ensure that casting of votes if not interrupted on account of the lunch break of the polling officials, the Election Commission has given that lunch should be taken on rotation basis.

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