Congress MLA held for giving police guns to Manipur rebels

IMPHAL: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday arrested Manipur Congress MLA Yamthong Haokip and the chairman of underground organisation Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA), David Hangshing, in connection with its probe related to missing arms from the armoury of 2nd battalion of Manipur Rifles between 2016 and 2017.

NIA probe revealed that Haokip, who represents Saikul assembly, had provided some pistols to Hangshing.

While Haokip was produced before a special NIA court in Imphal on Friday and sent to 15 day judicial custody, Hangshing will be produced before the court on Saturday.

The agency had last month recovered one of the pistols out of 56 missing pistols and 58 magazines from the residence of Haokip apart from some cash and gold biscuits.

Haokip's driver Th Diamond has also been arrested by the NIA.

Haokip, who won from the Kuki-dominated Saikul constituency in the newly set up Kangpokpi district, has been suffering from a heart-related ailment. He recently underwent treatment in the ICU of a private hospital in Imphal and later in New Delhi.

When he was produced in the court on Friday, he requested for bail on health grounds but court rejected his petition.

Earlier, on Thursday, NIA had recovered nine missing pistols from the residence of United Kuki Liberation Front (UKLF) chief, Soson Haokip, at Mantripukhri. NIA also conducted simultaneous raids at Soson's farmhouse at Pallel in Chandel district. UKLF is one of the 25 Kuki-Chin-Mizo militant groups which has signed the Suspension of Operation with the government.

The missing arms case first came to light after the new commandant of the 2nd Manipur Rifles, P Manjit, who joined in March this year, conducted an examination of the arms and ammunition holdings in the unit and the police headquarters pool. After the examination, the army found that 56 pistols and 58 magazines were missing from the armoury. The missing pistols were from among the 570 automatic 9mm pistols received from the state police headquarters on September 11, 2014.

Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh had earlier said that the matter was a serious threat to the security of the nation and the state. Biren, who holds the home portfolio, then wrote to the NIA for conducting a probe, after which a formal probe began. Four senior police officers, including an IPS officer, have already been suspended in connection with the case.

NIA spokesperson said that they have sufficient material and other evidence which established the complicity of the MLA in the case.

It has recovered 14 weapons till date in the case and the investigation is continuing.