IMPHAL: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has uncovered a disturbing link between weapons stolen during raids on police stations in Manipur and those found in the possession of individuals suspected of instigating violence.
In a chargesheet submitted to a special court in New Delhi on Monday, the central agency revealed that “three out of the 4 arms seized from the accused were looted from various government sources…”, as reported by a national news portal on Tuesday.
The NIA said that their findings are based on forensic analysis of arms recovered from an accused arrested by the Manipur police last September and weapons looted from police stations in the valley areas during the violence.
The NIA investigation also exposed the existence of “weapons training camps” organised by members of a banned Meitei insurgent group, allegedly aimed at training individuals for violent acts against members of the rival Kuki Zo community.
During the investigation, the involvement of a member of the banned People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was reported.
Arrested PLA member Moirangthem Anand Singh’s participation in a weapons training camp conducted by PLA members Oken Singh and Yaiphapa during the period of violence in Manipur came to light.
Approximately 80-90 young individuals reportedly received firearms training at this camp, according to the NIA’s findings.
The identified arms were traced back to the armoury of the 7th Manipur Rifles Battalion (one INSAS rifle), 2nd India Reserve battalion (one SLR Rifle), and Manipur Police Training Centre (.303 Rifles).
“The investigation is in process to backtrack the remaining one .303 rifle bearing serial no. D91642 along with ammunition,” the chargesheet further noted.
Earlier in April, Chief Minister N. Biren Singh revealed that police had recovered only 1,757 arms and 22,707 rounds of ammunition from the approximately 5,600 arms and 6.5 lakh rounds looted from the Manipur police armoury during the initial days of the violence.
