22 October,2023 05:59 PM IST | Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
Meitei-Kuki ethnic violence since May 3 has caused 175 deaths and displaced 50,000/ PTI
A Delhi court has approved the CBI's request for the remand of an individual, previously apprehended by the NIA, to facilitate his appearance in an Assam court in a case related to the looting of a substantial quantity of arms and ammunition from a police establishment during Manipur violence in May, as per the individual's lawyer, stated a report in PTI.
According to the report, Special Judge Sachin Gupta granted the CBI transit police remand for Moirangthem Anand Singh (45). Singh had been detained by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with a distinct case associated with the Manipur violence and was being held in Tihar Central Jail in New Delhi, according to advocate Rahul Kumar, who represents the accused.
The judge issued the order on October 20, based on an application submitted by the CBI, contending that the accused needed to be presented before the Chief Judicial Magistrate's court in Kamrup (Metro), Guwahati, Assam, the report further added.
The CBI has asserted that on May 4, approximately 5,000 individuals, armed with weapons, forcibly breached the grounds of the Manipur Police Training College (MPTC), overpowered the guards, and absconded with a substantial cache of arms and ammunition stored inside.
The central investigative agency has reported that the stolen weapons were found in the possession of the accused and others when they were detained in a separate case connected to the violence.
Advocate Kumar, in conjunction with Ashish Kashyap, contested the CBI's application during the proceedings.
Manipur violence
Ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities, which began on May 3, has resulted in at least 175 deaths and the displacement of 50,000 people. Mobs looted various types of arms and approximately 500,000 rounds of ammunition from police stations and armouries, with only around 1,300 of them recovered by the first week of October. The combing operations involved the Army, Manipur Police, Central Reserve Police Force, Border Security Force, and India Reserve Battalion.
Security forces engaged in combing operations in Manipur, which has been plagued by ethnic violence, have recovered arms and ammunition, including 1,085 bombs, that were looted from police stations and armouries over the past month, according to a statement from a defence ministry spokesperson based in Kohima, Nagaland.
The operations were successful in the Khamenlok-Gwalthabi, Wakan, and Shantipur ridges. The recovered items, including 18 automatic weapons, 14 improvised mortars/rocket launchers, six rifles/pistols, one mortar, 530 assorted ammunition, and 132 other war-like stores, were handed over to the Manipur Police.
