KOHIMA— Nagaland Director General of Police (DGP) Rupin Sharma on Thursday said that the investigation into the case of unauthorised transportation of ammunition to Manipur, involving an inspector of the state police and five others is, more or less, complete.
Speaking to media persons on the sideline of an event in Raj Bhavan, Kohima, Sharma said the police have arrested six persons including the police officer and they are currently in police custody.
Among the arrested included a woman and a senior functionary of the NSCN (IM).
It may be mentioned that Nagaland Police on July 10 intercepted a car near 6th Mile area in Chumoukedima and recovered 2,480 rounds of different types of ammunition, concealed in rice bags.
Following the arrest of the six accused, Nagaland Police constituted a high-level committee, headed by an inspector general of police (IGP), to investigate into the case.
The DGP informed that the police officer involved has written to the government for initiating disciplinary action against him. The department in turn has written to the government for putting him under suspension so that disciplinary action can be initiated.
However, the outcome of the disciplinary action “is not in our hands because it will depend on the evidence of the inquiry,” Sharma said.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]The police chief disclosed that they have traced the money trail and also identified to whom the ammunition was meant for.
It was meant to be delivered to someone in Manipur, although it is not sure where the ammunition would have finally landed from there, Sharma said.
The police officer responsible for the illegal transaction has been identified as Michael Yanthan, in-charge of Police central store in Chümoukedima, who is believed to have acted in his personal capacity while stealing the ammunition, according to the DGP.
When queried as to how the public can trust the police when they themselves are involved in illegal activities, Sharma replied, “We are also human beings, so you need to trust and distrust everybody. We are no different and the public is no different.”
He assured that whoever commits a crime, there will be “no prejudice and favouritism towards anyone” from the police.
The police chief also expressed concern over the involvement of uniformed personnel in drug trafficking and said the department is taking steps to implement mechanisms to prevent such occurrences, both among the police personnel and the general public.
The chief minister, who also spoke to the media, assured that an investigation into the illegal transportation of ammunition is underway and the law will take its course for the arrested police officer and other individuals involved.