Imphal, April 1: In what could be termed as a sign of the mushrooming of gangs involved in extortion and theft-related crimes in Imphal and other parts of the state, Manipur Police on Sunday arrested one young man identified as Moirangthem Lanchenba Meitei along with another underage boy from Imphal West.
They are part of a gang identified as “Salailen Mapari” also known as “Kanglei Defence” Force, which is involved in theft, extortion, and other anti-social activities.
Giving details about the arrest, the police statement said, “One .32 pistol with one magazine, one 9mm pistol with one magazine loaded with four 9mm ammunitions, one SBBL gun mounted with one telescope, one Chinese hand grenade, five wireless sets, one round seal of SALAILEN MAPARI KDF, one blue flag of SALAILEN MAPARI KDF, one each of camouflage cap, jacket, BP black vest, camouflage full shirt & trouser, sixteen letter heads of SALAILEN MAPARI KANGLEIPAK DEFENCE FORCE, one 4 wheeler vehicle, one motorcycle” were recovered from their possession.
A case has been registered for further investigation, and other members involved in the gang will also be nabbed soon, the statement added.
It may be mentioned that post ethnic violence that broke out in May last year increased cases of anti-social activities and extortion-related crimes have come to light in the recent past.
Since the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct, the concerned district administration called for surrendering all the licence arms, however, unfortunately, in the state, a large number of looted arms from the armouries at the peak of ethnic violence are yet to be recovered.
