Manipur: NIA arrests Congress MLA Yamthong Haokip in missing arms case

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday arrested Congress MLA from Manipur’s Saikul Assembly Constituency Yamthong Haokip in a missing arms case, according to an official statement.

“Yamthong Haokip was arrested today (August 24, 2018) for his involvement in procuring police pistols illegally and distributing them to different terrorist groups to wage war against the State,” the NIA said in a statement.

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The NIA is probing the case pertaining to theft of 56 pistols and 58 magazines from the Director General (of Police) pool armoury located within the premises of 2^nd Manipur Rifles Battalion in Imphal.

The weapons that went missing between 2016 and early 2017, were part of the consignment of 570 9mm pistols purchased by Manipur government on September 11, 2014, for use by the state’s security forces.

“Owing to his recent illness, the NIA judge ordered jail authorities to admit him in a government hospital,” it said.

The NIA conducted a search operation at the residence of the Congress MLA at Mantri Pukhri, Imphal on July 30, 2018 and recovered one of the missing pistols bearing no.18506735, besides other incriminating articles, according to the statement.

During investigation, sufficient material and other evidence has been collected which established the complicity of the MLA in the case, the NIA said.

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On Thursday, NIA had recovered 9 MM pistols, believed to be from the same lot that went missing from the Police armoury, from United Kuki Liberation Front (UKLF) chief Soson Haokip’s residence.  

The NIA had recovered 14 weapons till date in the case and the investigation was still on.

(With inputs from agencies)