Manipur MLA Yamthong Haokip arrested in missing arms case: NIA

New Delhi: Congress MLA from Manipur Yamthong Haokip was arrested on Friday by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a missing arms case, according to an official statement.
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 2nd Manipur Rifles Battalion, Imphal.
These weapons went missing between 2016 and early 2017.
“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 to the media.
Haokip, a member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Manipur’s Saikul, was produced before a special court in Imphal.
He has been remanded to judicial custody, the probe agency said.
“Owing to his recent illness, the NIA judge ordered jail authorities to admit him in a government hospital,” it said.
During investigation by the NIA, one of the missing pistols, was recovered at Mantri Pukhri, Imphal on July 30, 2018 in the search conducted at the residence of Haokip besides other incriminating articles, the statement said.
During investigation, sufficient material and other evidence has been collected which established the complicity of the MLA in the case, it said.
Earlier, NIA sleuths on Thursday night recovered nine 9mm pistols from the residence of P. Haokip, the ‘commander-in-chief’ of the United Kuki Liberation Front (UKLF), a signatory to the peace pact with the Centre.
The UKLF is an insurgent outfit in Manipur whose members came overground after signing Suspension of Operations pact with the Centre and Manipur government.
Though there have been no talks so far, the outfit’s leaders have been allowed to remain overground.
Chief Minister N Biren, who also holds the Home portfolio said, “We had decided to hand over the case to the NIA since the matter concerns national security”.
The NIA has recovered 14 weapons till date in the case and the investigation is continuing.
As part of the investigation, the NIA sleuths raided the houses of the UKLF chief located at Mantri Pukhri in Imphal and Pallel in Chandel district. (Agencies)