Munger Arms Haul Case: National Investigation Agency (NIA) Hopeful of More Recoveries

New Delhi/Patna: Having uncovered underworld and Maoist links to the Munger arms haul case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is hopeful of recovering more AK-47 assault rifles sold to the Maoists and gunrunners in Bihar. The case involves recovery of 22 AK-47 rifles in Munger smuggled from the Central Ordnance Depot in Jabalpur in September 2018.

According to an NIA official associated with the probe, the agency has identified several gun runners and Maoists in Bihar, who might have bought the assault rifles between 2012 to 2018 from Purushottam Lal Rajak, a retired employee of the Ordnance Depot. Rajak was arrested by Munger Police in September 2018 and confessed to transporting 70 Ak-47 assault rifles and spare parts to criminals in Munger. The weapon smuggling first came to light on August 28, 2018, when Munger police arrested Mohammad Imran with three AK-47 rifles and recovered three more weapons from an arms dealer, Shamsher Alam.

Following their interrogation, 12 more AK-47 rifles were recovered from a well in Munger’s Mirzapur village on September 28, 2018. The police then arrested a retired army jawan, Niyazur Rehman, from New Jalpaiguri in West Bengal. Raids were carried out last month at over 11 locations in Uttar Pradesh and at the residences of Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader Hulas Pande in Bihar’s Bhojpur, Rohtas and Patna districts. The NIA has so far arrested 15 accused in the case. (IANS)

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