The NIA has carried out raids at the residence of a Congress MLA in Manipur and recovered an assortment of weapons and ammunition, including a pistol missing from the Director General of Police (DGP) pool, the agency spokesperson said here today.
The central agency searched the premises of Saikul MLA Yamthong Haokip at Mantripukhi in the Imphal East district yesterday as part of its probe into a criminal case of missing of 56 pistols and 58 magazines from the DG pool 'kote' (armoury) located in the premises of the battalion of Manipur Rifles, between September, 2016 and early 2017.
A cash amount of Rs 26.40 lakh, gold ornaments worth Rs 20 lakh, a 9mm pistol (missing from the DG armoury), a Beretta pistol, a US-made Tomcat-32 pistol with magazine, another unlicensed pistol, two guns and 45 rounds of ammunition, including that of AK series, were recovered from the premises of the MLA, the spokesperson said.
Till date, nine people have been arrested in the case and three 9mm pistols, out of the 56 missing pistols, have been recovered "from the members of various militant groups of Manipur," he said.
"The custodial interrogation of the accused revealed the involvement of Haokip," the spokesperson added.