Imphal, December 24 2010: All 27 labourers from Wangoo area in Bishnupur district who had been captured by the villagers of Lamta were released unharmed.

They reached Imphal today, ending the 16 day capture drama.

Their release was secured after the police intervened.

Additional DGP, V Zathang, IGP (range-III) Sushilkumar, CO 15 Dorga Regiment, OCs of Kumbi, Sekmai and Tamei police stations, and social worker Ningombam Ibohal took major initiatives to convince the villagers to release the labourers, sources said.

Lamta villagers had confined them from December 8 in the house of the village chief for allegedly felling trees in the forest within the jurisdiction of the village without prior permission of the village authority.

One of the victims Namoijam Achou (57) recalling the incident of their detention told Hueiyen Lanpao that he and the other 26 labourers were taken to a place near the Manipur-Nagaland border by two local contractors, Khangpui of Makui village and Thangpu of Thonglal Akup village.

Out of the 27 labourers, 16 of them were engaged by Khangpui while the other 11 were engaged by Thangbu to cut trees in the forest at Kuilong village.

From November 19 to December 8, they fell around 10,000 cubic metres of timber, he said.

They were accosted by the villagers of Lamta on December 8 and the villagers had summoned the two contractors to give the reasons behind the felling of the trees.

The villagers had set a deadline for December 22 to the contractors.

N Achou said the villagers had threatened that all of them would be handed over to UGs if the contractors failed to respond.

The two contractors failed to turn up even after the deadline expired and it was only after troops of 15 Dogra Regiment came and negotiated with the village authority that they were released yesterday around 2 pm, Achou said.

The security personnel escorted them up to Makui village where they halted for the night and headed for Imphal today.

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