This story is from February 12, 2019

Delhi IB team to quiz arms smugglers nabbed in Purnia

Delhi IB team to quiz arms smugglers nabbed in Purnia
Myanmar Army’s three AK-47s, two UBGLs and 1000 cartridges recovered after stripping a SUV in Purnia on Sunday.
PATNA: A special team of Intelligence Bureau (IB) headed by an assistant director rank officer from Delhi will interrogate the arms smugglers arrested with sophisticated arms and ammunition at Baisi in Purnia district.
The police on Sunday recovered Myanmar Army’s three AK-47 assault rifles, two under-barrel grenade launchers (UBGLs) and 1200 live cartridges after breaking the doors, dashboard, roof, seats and footsteps of a SUV seized on February 7.
Initially, 600 live cartridges of AK-47 rifles were seized from the vehicle. V R Kahornagam, Clearson Kavo (both from Ukhrul in Manipur) and Suraj Prasad from Pipra Basant in Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh were arrested.
Sources said the IB team would reach Purnia via Bagdogra in West Bengal either on Monday night or Tuesday morning to interrogate the two Ukhrul-based arms smugglers. Kahornagam and Kavo are suspected to have direct links with a northeastern insurgent group. Ukhrul is located near India-Myanmar border.
Police extensively searched the SUV on information from the state police headquarters on Saturday night and recovered the dismantled parts of three AK-47s of Myanmar Army.
Police headquarters sources said Kahornagam and Kavo were initially taken on two days’ police remand on Sunday. “But a Purnia court on Monday granted their police custody for five more days,” sources said.
“The matter is highly sensitive as Myanmar Army’s arms and ammunition are being smuggled into India. This has wider ramifications as it requires to be ascertained if these arms smuggling racket is being run only for money by insurgent groups or foreign powers are also involved to threaten the country’s internal security,” a highly placed source said.

Sources said the two Ukhrul-based smugglers were interrogated by Bihar’s antiterrorism squad (ATS) and an IB team of the state police. “They were being shown some photographs of Maoist commanders active in Bihar and Jharkhand and insurgent group leaders of Dimapur in Nagaland and other places of northeast,” sources said, adding the police were conducting raids to nab Mukesh Singh and Santosh Singh, who were to receive the consignment in Patna.
Purnia police, after initial recovery of 600 live cartridges, had conducted raid on Mukesh’s flat at RK Puram in Danapur leading to further recovery of 50 live cartridges of INSAS rifle. But Mukesh could not be arrested.
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