PATNA: Independent MLA and Mokama strongman Anant Singh has been booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) after recovery of two hand grenades, an AK-47 assault rifle, a magazine and 26 rounds of live cartridges from his ancestral home in Ladma village under Barh police station in rural Patna on Friday.
SP (rural) Kantesh Kumar Mishra said, "Apart from UAPA, the MLA and some of his associates have also been booked under the Arms Act and Explosives Act." He added, “As investigation proceeds, other relevant sections may get added in the FIR as per requirement.”
Parliament has recently passed an amendment to the UAPA, which allows the authorities to designate an individual as a terrorist and seize his properties.
However, the Barh SHO, Sanjeet Kumar, on being asked if the MLA has been booked under the amended UAPA, said the FIR was lodged under Section 13 of The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, which is the older Act.
The police have moved court seeking an arrest warrant against Singh while his sexagenarian caretaker, Sunil Ram, was remanded in judicial custody on Saturday. Ram had the keys to the room from where the arms, ammunition and explosives were seized. Both have been made named in the FIR lodged at the Barh police station.
The investigating officer in the case, SDPO Lipi Singh, is expecting to get the arrest warrant on Monday. “We are waiting for the arrest warrant after which further action will be taken. Police did not receive any vital clues about the assault rifle and grenades from the caretaker during his interrogation,” Singh said.
Police sources said the Mokama strongman’s “terrorising influence” is such that initially none were ready to become independent witnesses to the seizure list prepared by the police. “It took more than five hours for police to convince two people to become witnesses,” sources said.
The AK-47 assault rifle seized during the raid is suspected to be part of the arms smuggled from the Central Ordnance Factory, Jabalpur, for over a decade before the racket was finally busted in Munger in August last year and more than 20 AK-47s were recovered.
The case was later taken over by the NIA. The smugglers, which included COD’s storekeeper, used to smuggle out working parts of discarded assault rifles and reassemble them.
The presence of three different arsenal numbers on the AK-47 seized from Singh’s residence rifle led to the suspicion that it could be an assembled one. A senior IPS officer, privy to the developments in the case, said Indian Army officials visited Barh on Saturday to inspect the seized rifle.
“They noted the three different arsenal numbers from the rifle for their internal investigation as they expressed their suspicion that it was one of the several rifles smuggled from Jabalpur COD,” he said preferring anonymity.
He added that the separate arsenal numbers on the AK-47 indicate that it was made from assembling parts of different rifles.
SP (rural) Kantesh Kumar Mishra confirmed to TOI over phone that the rifle indeed has three different arsenal numbers. “Investigation is on and the seized rifle would be sent to a forensic laboratory for analysis,” Mishra said, but refused to comment on the possible Jabalpur COD connection of the seized weapon.
Another IPS officer said Army officers were surprised to see the two hand grenades and termed it as a first-of-its-kind recovery in state. “The grenades were identified as HE-36. Army officials failed to get its serial numbers and make as they were wrapped in carbon papers,” he said.
A senior Army officer, on condition of anonymity, said HE stands for ‘high explosive’. “These grenades are lethal. They have a kill zone of 25-30 metres and can kill several people inside that zone,” he added.
SP (rural) Kantesh Kumar Mishra said, "Apart from UAPA, the MLA and some of his associates have also been booked under the Arms Act and Explosives Act." He added, “As investigation proceeds, other relevant sections may get added in the FIR as per requirement.”
Parliament has recently passed an amendment to the UAPA, which allows the authorities to designate an individual as a terrorist and seize his properties.
However, the Barh SHO, Sanjeet Kumar, on being asked if the MLA has been booked under the amended UAPA, said the FIR was lodged under Section 13 of The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, which is the older Act.
The police have moved court seeking an arrest warrant against Singh while his sexagenarian caretaker, Sunil Ram, was remanded in judicial custody on Saturday. Ram had the keys to the room from where the arms, ammunition and explosives were seized. Both have been made named in the FIR lodged at the Barh police station.
The investigating officer in the case, SDPO Lipi Singh, is expecting to get the arrest warrant on Monday. “We are waiting for the arrest warrant after which further action will be taken. Police did not receive any vital clues about the assault rifle and grenades from the caretaker during his interrogation,” Singh said.
Police sources said the Mokama strongman’s “terrorising influence” is such that initially none were ready to become independent witnesses to the seizure list prepared by the police. “It took more than five hours for police to convince two people to become witnesses,” sources said.
The AK-47 assault rifle seized during the raid is suspected to be part of the arms smuggled from the Central Ordnance Factory, Jabalpur, for over a decade before the racket was finally busted in Munger in August last year and more than 20 AK-47s were recovered.
The case was later taken over by the NIA. The smugglers, which included COD’s storekeeper, used to smuggle out working parts of discarded assault rifles and reassemble them.
The presence of three different arsenal numbers on the AK-47 seized from Singh’s residence rifle led to the suspicion that it could be an assembled one. A senior IPS officer, privy to the developments in the case, said Indian Army officials visited Barh on Saturday to inspect the seized rifle.
“They noted the three different arsenal numbers from the rifle for their internal investigation as they expressed their suspicion that it was one of the several rifles smuggled from Jabalpur COD,” he said preferring anonymity.
He added that the separate arsenal numbers on the AK-47 indicate that it was made from assembling parts of different rifles.
SP (rural) Kantesh Kumar Mishra confirmed to TOI over phone that the rifle indeed has three different arsenal numbers. “Investigation is on and the seized rifle would be sent to a forensic laboratory for analysis,” Mishra said, but refused to comment on the possible Jabalpur COD connection of the seized weapon.
Another IPS officer said Army officers were surprised to see the two hand grenades and termed it as a first-of-its-kind recovery in state. “The grenades were identified as HE-36. Army officials failed to get its serial numbers and make as they were wrapped in carbon papers,” he said.
A senior Army officer, on condition of anonymity, said HE stands for ‘high explosive’. “These grenades are lethal. They have a kill zone of 25-30 metres and can kill several people inside that zone,” he added.
Quick Links
Lok Sabha Election Schedule 2019Lok Sabha Election NewsDelhi Capitals teamMI team 2019Rajasthan Royals 2019RCB team 2019Maharashtra Lok Sabha ConstituenciesBJP Candidate ListBJP List 2019 TamilnaduShiv Sena List 2019AP BJP List 2019Mamata BanerjeeBJP List 2019 MaharashtraPriyanka GandhiBJP List 2019 KarnatakaAMMK Candidate List 2019BJP List 2019 WBLok Sabha Elections in Tamil NaduBSP List 2019 UPNews in TamilLok Sabha Poll 2019Satta Matka 2018PM ModiMahagathbandhanNagpur BJP Candidate ListChandrababu NaiduTamil Nadu ElectionsUrmila MatondkarNews in TeluguMadras High CourtTejashwi YadavArvind KejriwalTejasvi SuryaPawan KalyanArvind KejriwalYogi AdityanathJaya PradaSatta King 2019Srinagar encounter
Get the app